Departmental Staff (Wales)

Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what representations he has received from (a) the National Assembly for Wales and (b) local authorities in Wales regarding the proposed closure of his Department's offices in Wales.

Jane Kennedy: We have received a number of representations from Assembly Members and local authorities.
	But the service we provide is not just about offices; and our innovative approach means that our customers, including sick and disabled people, no longer have to visit an office to access many of our services.
	Massive Investment of over £2 billion over four years since 2002 means that we can deliver more responsive services with fewer offices and with a more modern approach.

Access to Work Programme

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have received (a) full and (b) partial grants from the Access to Work programme in each year since its introduction; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: Access to Work is a specialist disability programme which was introduced in 1994. It provides practical advice and support to help disabled people enter or stay in paid employment. The support is aimed at overcoming work related obstacles resulting from disability. It does this through a system of grants towards the cost of providing support. The amount of support available to any individual will depend on their work related needs resulting from disability. Grants made under the programme are not specifically categorised as "full" or "partial"
	Information on the number of people helped each year since Access to Work was introduced is in the table.
	
		Number of people helped each year since Access to Work was introduced
		
			  New beneficiaries Existing beneficiaries Total beneficiaries 
		
		
			 1994–95 7,669 2,725 10,394 
			 1995–96 9,579 4,098 13,677 
			 1996–97 3,639 6,480 10,119 
			 1997–98 5,167 7,658 12,825 
			 1998–99 6,326 9,768 16,094 
			 1999–2000 9,786 10,943 20,729 
			 2000–01 12,318 13,569 25,887 
			 2001–02 13,137 19,661 32,798 
			 2002–03 15,199 21,407 36,606 
			 2003–04 15,433 19,411 34,844 
			 Total 98,253 115,720 213,973 
		
	
	Note:
	New beneficiaries are people who receive Access to Work Assistance for the first time ever within the financial year. Existing beneficiaries are people who received Access to Work assistance in a previous financial year, and continue to receive financial support. Existing beneficiaries in 1994–95 are people who were transferred to Access to Work from other programmes.
	Source:
	Jobcentre Plus internal Management Information

Benefits

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioner households received (a) free TV licences, (b) winter fuel payment, (c) pension credit and (d) council tax benefit in (i) Lancashire and (ii) Chorley in 2003–04.

Malcolm Wicks: TV Licensing, who administer free television licences for people aged 75 or over as agents for the BBC, are not able to provide geographical breakdowns of the number of free licences issued. However, the number of households with at least one person aged 75 or over with entitlement to the winter fuel payment in 2003–04 was 63,590 in Lancashire and 5,065 in the Chorley constituency. These households would be eligible for free TV licences.
	Information on the number of households in Lancashire and Chorley that received a winter fuel payment in 2003–04 is in the Library.
	The most recent numbers of households and individuals receiving pension credit in Lancashire and Chorley are set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Households Individuals 
		
		
			 Lancashire 54,275 66,270 
			 Chorley 3,920 4,795 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures are rounded to the nearest five.
	2. Pension credit—individuals comprise claimants and partners and may contain a small number of partners aged under 60.
	3. Parliamentary constituencies and local authorities are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS directory.
	4. The Pension credit figures are for December 2004.
	5. Council tax benefit (CTB) data for pensioners can only be taken from an annual 1 per cent. sample. To provide these statistics at a lower than regional level would be subject to a high degree of sampling variation. Therefore county level figures for Lancashire are not available.
	6. Parliamentary constituency level statistics are not available for CTB, therefore Chorley data cannot be supplied.
	Source:
	IAD Information Centre.
	The information on council tax benefit (CTB) is not available in the format requested.

Benefits

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in the Bridgewater constituency were in receipt of means-tested benefits in (a) 1997 and (b) 2004.

Malcolm Wicks: The information requested is not available.
	Income-related benefits include income support, housing benefit and council tax benefit and jobseekers allowance (income based). Housing benefit and council tax benefit figures are not available at constituency level.
	Income support, jobseekers allowance (income based) and pension credit (from October 2003) data is available by parliamentary constituency as shown in the following table.
	
		Thousand
		
			 IS/JSA(IB)/PC(GC) beneficiaries aged 60 and over Bridgewater parliamentary constituency 
		
		
			 May1997 3.1 
			 August 2004 3.5 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures are based on 1 per cent. and 5 per cent. samples and subject to a degree of sampling variation.
	2. IS/JSA(IB) figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.
	3. Pension credit is guarantee credit only.
	4. Beneficiaries are all claimants and partners aged 60 or over. This includes claimants aged under 60 where there is a partner aged 60 or over.

New Deal

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what role the new deal is playing in north-east Wales in progress towards his targets for full employment.

Jane Kennedy: The new deal has played a vital role in achieving one of the highest employment rates on record. Nearly 9,000 people have been helped into work through the new deal in north-east Wales, including more than 1,500 in Wrexham.
	The employment rate in north-east Wales has risen by more than 6 percentage points since 1997 and by over 8 percentage points to nearly 77 per cent. in my hon. Friend's constituency.

Pensions

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many women received a state pension on the basis of their own contributions in (a) 1997 and (b) each year since 2001, broken down by region and county; how many of these pensions were (i) 50 per cent. or less, (ii) 75 per cent. or less and (iii) 75 per cent. or more of the basic pension rate.

Malcolm Wicks: The available information is set out in the tables. Information prior to 1999 cannot be broken down by region or county.
	
		Numbers of female state pension recipients receiving a state pension based wholly or partly on their own national insurance contributions by government office region (GOR), county or unitary authority as at: March 2000; March 2001; March 2002; March 2003 and March 2004 Thousands
		
			  March 2000 March 2001 March 2002 March 2003 March 2004 
		
		
			 North East GOR 169.4 174.9 180.1 184.6 190.9 
			 Darlington 6.7 6.8 7.0 7.1 7.5 
			 Hartlepool 6.8 7.0 7.1 7.3 7.5 
			 Middlesbrough 8.5 9.0 9.2 9.3 9.5 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 9.3 9.4 9.7 10.1 10.7 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 10.6 10.9 11.1 11.8 12.2 
			 Durham 31.0 32.3 33.5 34.7 36.4 
			 Northumberland 19.6 20.4 21.5 22.5 24.0 
			 Tyne and Wear 76.9 79.1 80.9 81.9 83.3 
			 North West GOR 498.9 509.3 522.9 536.2 551.9 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 10.4 10.2 10.3 10.3 10.4 
			 Blackpool 13.1 13.7 14.1 14.3 14.6 
			 Halton 7.2 7.4 7.6 8.1 8.5 
			 Warrington 12.2 12.6 13.1 13.5 14.2 
			 Cheshire 47.7 49.4 51.3 53.2 55.8 
			 Cumbria 35.1 36.6 38.0 39.2 40.8 
			 Greater Manchester 178.8 180.9 185.0 188.6 192.9 
			 Lancashire 89.2 91.1 93.8 97.1 101.3 
			 Merseyside 105.3 107.6 109.7 111.8 113.4 
			   
			 Yorkshire and the Humber GOR 315.9 323.9 332.4 344.0 356.2 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 22.4 22.7 23.9 25.2 26.8 
			 Kingston upon Hull 13.9 14.3 14.7 14.9 15.4 
			 North East Lincolnshire 10.5 10.9 11.1 11.5 11.6 
			 North Lincolnshire 9.2 9.7 10.0 10.7 11.3 
			 York 11.6 12.0 12.3 12.9 13.5 
			 North Yorkshire 40.2 41.5 43.4 45.2 47.0 
			 South Yorkshire 73.4 75.4 77.7 81.1 84.4 
			 West Yorkshire 134.7 137.3 139.3 142.4 146.4 
			 North Yorkshire 315.9 323.9 332.4 344.0 356.2 
			 South Yorkshire 22.4 22.7 23.9 25.2 26.8 
			   
			 East Midlands GOR 255.7 265.0 273.6 285.2 300.0 
			 Derby 13.4 13.8 14.0 14.6 14.9 
			 Leicester 16.1 16.3 16.6 16.6 16.8 
			 Nottingham 15.0 15.6 15.6 15.7 16.2 
			 Rutland 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.7 3.0 
			 Derbyshire 42.7 44.3 45.7 47.9 50.8 
			 Leicestershire 38.9 39.9 41.7 43.3 45.7 
			 Lincolnshire 35.7 36.7 37.8 39.4 42.1 
			 Northamptonshire 46.2 48.0 49.5 52.3 55.2 
			 Nottinghamshire 255.7 265.0 273.6 285.2 300.0 
			   
			 West Midlands GOR 342.8 353.3 364.4 378.7 393.1 
			 County of Herefordshire 12.5 13.0 13.5 14.2 15.0 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 19.6 19.8 20.1 20.5 20.9 
			 Telford and Wrekin 7.7 7.9 8.2 8.9 9.5 
			 Shropshire 19.6 20.4 21.4 22.2 23.3 
			 Staffordshire 51.4 53.9 56.3 59.4 62.0 
			 Warwickshire 33.4 34.1 35.8 37.9 39.2 
			 West Midlands 163.5 167.4 170.8 175.5 180.8 
			 Worcestershire 35.0 36.8 38.2 40.1 42.5 
			   
			 East GOR 340.8 351.5 365.6 381.0 396.2 
			 Luton 8.8 9.3 9.6 9.7 9.9 
			 Peterborough 8.9 9.1 9.5 9.8 10.0 
			 Southend-on-Sea 11.4 11.5 12.1 12.7 12.8 
			 Thurrock 6.9 7.1 7.4 7.7 7.9 
			 Bedfordshire 22.0 22.8 23.6 24.5 25.8 
			 Cambridgeshire 30.1 31.3 32.9 34.6 36.5 
			 Essex 85.4 88.1 91.6 96.1 100.5 
			 Hertfordshire 62.9 64.1 65.8 68.2 70.9 
			 Norfolk 59.5 62.0 64.9 67.4 69.8 
			 Suffolk 45.0 46.2 48.2 50.3 52.2 
			   
			 London GOR 378.6 385.1 390.8 396.4 404.7 
			 Inner London—West 47.9 48.0 48.0 48.5 49.3 
			 Inner London—East 76.9 77.7 77.1 77.3 78.7 
			 Outer London—East and North East 92.7 95.1 97.0 98.7 101.0 
			 Outer London—South 69.6 71.8 74.0 75.5 77.2 
			 Outer London—West and North West 91.5 92.5 94.8 96.4 98.5 
			   
			 South East GOR 515.1 531.8 547.3 570.7 594.1 
			 Bracknell Forest 5.0 5.2 5.2 5.5 6.0 
			 Brighton and Hove 17.6 17.8 17.7 17.5 17.6 
			 Isle of Wight 11.5 12.0 12.5 13.0 13.6 
			 Medway 12.8 13.4 13.5 14.2 14.8 
			 Milton Keynes 8.9 9.4 9.9 10.5 10.8 
			 Portsmouth 11.7 12.0 12.4 12.2 12.2 
			 Reading 7.3 7.4 7.4 7.8 8.1 
			 Slough 5.2 5.2 5.3 5.5 5.5 
			 Southampton 11.1 11.2 11.2 11.4 12.0 
			 West Berkshire 7.6 7.5 7.7 8.4 9.3 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 8.4 8.5 8.5 8.9 9.5 
			 Wokingham 7.2 7.5 7.7 8.1 8.6 
			 Buckinghamshire 28.2 29.3 29.9 31.2 32.9 
			 East Sussex 43.9 45.0 46.6 48.2 49.6 
			 Hampshire 76.6 79.9 82.6 87.6 91.8 
			 Kent 90.2 93.3 96.0 100.6 104.3 
			 Oxfordshire 31.8 33.0 34.1 36.1 38.0 
			 Surrey 68.6 70.7 73.1 76.0 79.2 
			 West Sussex 61.6 63.6 65.8 68.1 70.0 
			   
			 South West GOR 357.3 369.3 382.8 398.4 415.4 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 11.6 11.9 12.3 12.5 13.0 
			 Bournemouth 14.1 14.2 14.0 13.9 14.4 
			 Bristol 22.7 23.1 23.5 24.3 24.9 
			 North Somerset 14.9 15.2 16.1 16.6 17.6 
			 Plymouth 15.3 16.0 16.4 17.1 17.6 
			 Poole 11.0 10.9 11.3 11.8 12.2 
			 South Gloucestershire 14.1 14.7 15.1 15.9 17.1 
			 Swindon 9.3 9.7 10.2 10.6 11.0 
			 Torbay 12.2 12.2 12.5 12.6 12.9 
			 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 37.5 39.3 41.9 43.9 46.4 
			 Devon 56.2 58.7 61.0 63.6 65.9 
			 Dorset 35.1 36.4 37.6 39.2 40.7 
			 Gloucestershire 39.5 40.4 41.5 43.5 45.2 
			 Somerset 37.3 39.0 40.6 42.7 44.9 
			 Wiltshire 26.5 27.5 28.9 30.2 31.6 
			   
			 Wales GOR 196.7 203.7 212.2 221.0 229.9 
			 Blaenau Gwent 4.2 4.3 4.5 4.7 5.0 
			 Bridgend 8.4 9.0 9.3 9.6 9.9 
			 Caerphilly 9.2 9.7 10.2 10.8 11.3 
			 Cardiff 18.2 18.6 19.4 19.9 20.4 
			 Carmarthenshire 13.1 13.7 14.0 14.4 15.1 
			 Ceredigion 4.9 5.2 5.5 5.6 5.7 
			 Conwy 10.6 10.8 11.0 11.8 12.1 
			 Denbighshire 7.9 8.1 8.3 8.6 8.8 
			 Flintshire 9.5 9.8 10.3 10.9 11.5 
			 Anglesey 5.3 5.5 5.9 5.9 6.3 
			 Gwynedd 9.0 9.5 9.8 10.2 10.3 
			 Merthyr Tydfil 3.9 4.0 4.2 4.2 4.4 
			 Monmouthshire 5.6 5.9 6.4 6.8 7.1 
			 Neath Port Talbot 9.0 9.0 9.2 9.6 10.1 
			 Newport 8.3 8.8 9.4 9.6 10.0 
			 Pembrokeshire 7.7 8.1 8.3 8.6 9.1 
			 Powys 8.0 8.2 8.7 9.4 10.0 
			 Rhondda, Cynon, Taff 15.2 15.5 16.3 17.3 18.0 
			 Swansea 16.5 17.0 17.7 18.4 19.2 
			 The Vale of Glamorgan 8.1 8.2 8.4 8.7 8.9 
			 Torfaen 6.1 6.4 6.7 6.8 7.1 
			 Wrexham 8.1 8.3 8.8 9.1 9.5 
			   
			 Scotland GOR 378.4 390.0 399.7 412.1 426.6 
			 Aberdeen City 15.5 15.8 15.9 15.9 16.0 
			 Aberdeenshire 13.0 13.4 13.8 14.8 16.5 
			 Angus 8.6 8.8 8.8 9.1 9.5 
			 Argyll and Bute 7.6 7.7 8.0 8.5 9.1 
			 Clackmannanshire 3.0 3.1 3.3 3.4 3.6 
			 Dumfries and Galloway 12.1 12.7 13.2 13.9 14.9 
			 Dundee City 14.3 14.5 14.5 14.8 15.0 
			 East Ayrshire 9.0 9.5 9.8 9.9 10.5 
			 East Dunbartonshire 7.9 8.4 8.7 8.8 9.3 
			 East Lothian 6.5 6.6 6.7 7.0 7.3 
			 East Renfrewshire 6.5 6.9 7.1 7.6 7.9 
			 Edinburgh 29.7 30.1 30.6 31.0 31.9 
			 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar 1.9 2.0 2.1 2.1 2.1 
			 Falkirk 10.2 10.6 10.9 11.5 11.9 
			 Fife 25.2 26.1 26.9 28.1 29.6 
			 Glasgow City 47.6 48.2 48.2 48.0 48.4 
			 Highland 15.6 16.3 16.8 17.6 18.4 
			 Inverclyde 7.9 8.2 8.2 8.5 8.6 
			 Midlothian 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 
			 Moray 5.5 6.0 6.1 6.4 6.9 
			 North Ayrshire 11.3 11.8 12.3 12.7 13.3 
			 North Lanarkshire 23.8 24.5 25.0 25.8 26.7 
			 Orkney Islands 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.5 1.4 
			 Perth and Kinross 10.8 11.2 11.7 12.4 12.5 
			 Renfrewshire 13.9 14.2 14.7 15.1 15.4 
			 Scottish Borders 8.8 9.1 9.2 9.4 9.6 
			 Shetland Islands 1.3 1.5 1.6 1.5 1.6 
			 South Ayrshire 9.4 9.4 9.8 10.3 11.0 
			 South Lanarkshire 23.5 24.5 25.3 26.3 26.9 
			 Stirling 6.0 6.4 6.8 7.1 7.2 
			 West Dunbartonshire 7.8 7.8 8.1 8.2 8.3 
			 West Lothian 7.6 8.1 8.7 9.2 9.4 
			   
			 Great Britain 3,749.8 3,857.9 3,971.7 4,108.3 4,259.0 
		
	
	
		The number of women in Great Britain receiving a basic state pension based wholly or partly on their own national insurance contribution record Thousands
		
			  Total number of women in Great Britain receiving a basic state pension based on their own national insurance record Number of women in Great Britain receiving 50 per cent. or less of a basic state pension Number of women in Great Britain receiving 51 per cent. to 75 per cent. of a basic state pension Number of women receiving 76 per cent. or more of a basic state pension 
		
		
			 March 2000 3,749.8 286.9 336.2 3,126.7 
			 March 2001 3,857.9 277.7 363.9 3,216.3 
			 March 2002 3,971.7 270.1 391.4 3,310.2 
			 March 2003 4,108.3 267.1 427.2 3,414.0 
			 March 2004 4,259.0 263.3 465.1 3,530.6 
		
	
	1. Numbers are taken from a five per cent. sample and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling variation.
	2. Numbers are rounded to the nearest hundred and are expressed in thousands.
	3. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
	4. Local authorities are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory.
	5. Numbers also refer to women who are receiving a basic state pension based on their own contribution record which is increased by using the contribution record of their husband or former husband. Numbers do not include women entitled to a basic state pension based on their own record which is then increased when they meet the conditions for a category D pension.
	6. Category A basic state pension rates:
	March 2000—£66.75;
	March 2001—£67.50;
	March 2002—72.50; March 2003—75.50; and
	March 2004—£77.45.
	Source:
	IAD Information Centre, 5 per cent. sample as at 31 March for the years shown

Official Histories

Keith Simpson: To ask the Prime Minister how many Government-sponsored official histories are in preparation; when each was commissioned; who the authors are; what the estimated date of completion is in each case; and what the estimated cost in each case is.

Tony Blair: The following official histories are currently in preparation:
	
		
			 Title Author Date commissioned Estimated publication date 
		
		
			 From Defence by Committee to Defence by Ministry Professor Donald Cameron Watt 1974 2006 
			 External Economic Policy since the War Volume 2 Professor Leslie Pressnell 1974 2006 
			 Special Operations Executive in Greece Professor Richard Clogg 1984 2006 
			 Special Operations Executive in Italy Christopher Woods 1989 2006 
			 Falklands Campaign Professor Lawrence Freedman 1997 2005 
			 UK Accession to the EEC Volume 2 Professor Alan Milward 1997 2006 
			 UK Accession to the EEC Volume 3 Professor Alan Milward 1997 2009 
			 The Development of North Sea Oil and Gas Professor Alexander Kemp 1999 2006 
			 Channel Tunnel Dr. Terence Gourvish 2001 2006 
			 The Civil Service since Fulton Professor Rodney Lowe 2002 2008 
			 The Official Biography of Desmond Morton Mrs. Gill Bennett 2002 2006 
			 D-Notice System Rear Admiral Nick Wilkinson 2004 2008 
			 Privatisation Professor David Parker 2004 2009 
		
	
	In the financial year 2003–04 the cost of running the official history programme was £190,000. This includes fees and expenses of historians and research assistants and costs associated with publication, but excludes staff costs of Cabinet Office administrative support and accommodation-related overheads. In the case of the SOE histories no fee is paid for the authors' work, instead they seek recompense through royalties from their publishers.

Earth Observation Summit

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the results of the Earth Observation Summit in Brussels on 16 February.

Elliot Morley: The Summit participants adopted a resolution on the future of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) and the Global Earth Observation System of Systems. The resolution included endorsement of a 10-year implementation plan. The plan details the work needed to assess the capacity of existing observation systems, identify gaps in the global observational network, and to work with others to address those gaps and develop more coordinated and comprehensive systems. A further result was the issue of a communiqué that emphasised the high priority that should be given to tsunami and multi-hazard warning systems within the GEOSS.
	The UK endorsed the plan and the communiqué along with the other 57 countries participating in GEO.

EU Subsidies

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the monetary value of direct EU export subsidies for agricultural goods exported by the EU to Africa in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Alun Michael: Total expenditure on EU export refunds (subsidies) is as follows.
	
		
			  Expenditure (£ million) 
		
		
			 1999 5,572.8 
			 2000 5,646.2 
			 2001 3,400.6 
			 2002 3,432.4 
			 2003(1) 3,703.0 
		
	
	(1) Data for 2003 refers to appropriations for commitments entered in the budget for 2003.
	Sources: "Agriculture in the European Union" for 2000–03 and "The Agricultural Situation in the European Union" for 1999.
	However, information on expenditure on export subsidies is not available by destination country and thus subsidised exports to Africa are not separately identifiable.

Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how waste from schools is defined with respect to the Environmental Protection Act 1990; and what duties are incumbent on (a) waste authorities and (b) schools for the collection and disposal of waste from schools.

Elliot Morley: Section 75(5)(d) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 defines waste from premises forming part of a university or school or other educational establishment as household waste. In addition, Schedule 2 to the Controlled Waste Regulations 1992 classifies this waste as household waste for which a charge for collection may be made.
	Section 45(1) of the 1990 Act places a statutory duty on waste collection authorities to arrange for the collection of household waste. Section 48(1) of the 1990 Act requires waste collection authorities to deliver for disposal to the waste disposal authority all waste which has been collected under section 45.
	Section 51(1) of the 1990 Act requires waste disposal authorities to arrange for the disposal of the waste collected in its area by the waste collection authorities.
	Schools may arrange for the collection of their waste with either the waste collection authority or any other person who is an "authorised person" for the purposes of section 34 of the 1990 Act (the duty of care).

Waste

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on what date Newcastle upon Tyne city council applied for a grant for a gas from waste burning plant; what (a) volume and (b) type of materials are proposed to be gasified and burnt; what sum of money has been requested; and if she will place the application in the Library.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 24 February 2005
	The Strategy Unit report "Waste Not, Want Not" (published in November 2002) pointed out that new options for dealing with residual waste need to be developed and tested as landfill diminishes in importance. To address this issue, Defra's Waste Implementation Programme is currently delivering a programme of advice on and development of new technologies including pilots for more innovative waste management practices—providing detailed and impartial technical and operational data to inform future decision-making.
	Defra's latest call for industrial research proposals or projects aimed at developing pilot scale treatment equipment closed on 30 November 2004. Project proposals are now being evaluated by an expert advisory committee, including representatives from the public, private, community, NGO and financial sectors against a range of key criteria. Full details of the evaluation process are available on the Defra website.
	I can confirm that Newcastle city council has submitted a proposal for a pilot scale gasification and pyrolysis plant as part of the current bidding round on 29 November 2004. It would not be appropriate at this stage to release detailed information on any individual proposal as this would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of local authorities' industry partners. However, details of preferred bidders and information on their specific projects will be announced publicly in the spring.

Highway Maintenance

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on the percentage of road length, broken down by highway category type, which should be considered for structural maintenance work in each local authority area in 2004.

Charlotte Atkins: Structural maintenance work on highways last year, as at any time, was a matter for the local authorities themselves to decide.
	The Department recommends that local authorities maintain their roads in accordance with the code of practice for maintenance management "Delivering best value in highway maintenance" published in 2001. In deciding on structural maintenance work authorities should pay regard, amongst other things, to the surface condition surveys of carriageways they are required to carry out annually. These produce the best value performance indicators 96, 97a and 97b (for principal, non-principal classified and unclassified roads respectively) that indicate the proportion of the network that should be considered for structural maintenance. ODPM will publish the 2004–05 results of these surveys for each English local authority later this year.

Public Service Vehicles

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of public service vehicles are required to comply with public service vehicle accessibility regulations; and if he will make a statement.

Charlotte Atkins: An annual survey of vehicle operators carried out by the Department for Transport indicates that there are almost 80,000 public service vehicles operating in Great Britain. These comprise a range of vehicles, including minibuses, full size buses and coaches. Vehicle size, age, carrying capacity and type of operation will dictate which of these must meet the requirements of the public service vehicle accessibility regulations. This makes it impossible to accurately determine what percentage of public service vehicles are currently required to comply with the regulations.
	Nevertheless, the regulatory impact assessment (RIA) carried out prior to the introduction of the PSV accessibility regulations predicted future changes in bus fleet composition, including reduced numbers of double deck buses and increased numbers of minibuses. It was estimated that by the time of full compliance, i.e. 2017 for buses and 2020 for coaches, almost 53,000 buses will fall within the scope of regulations, representing towards 95 per cent. of the bus fleet capacity at that time. Numbers of coaches were more difficult to predict but the RIA estimated that 1,250 vehicles would fall within the scope of regulations. This is likely to represent 5 per cent. of the total coach fleet in 2020.
	However, the Department is currently discussing with industry whether it might be possible to extend the scope of regulations to include coaches used on tour services. If vehicles operated in this way were brought within scope of the regulations, this would result in a far greater proportion of accessible coaches in the fleet.

St. Pancras Station

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much the fitting-out of the Thameslink Box at St. Pancras station will cost.

Alistair Darling: The most recent projected cost of the fitting-out of the St. Pancras Midland Road station is approximately £60 million (at 2003–04 prices) which includes the fitting out, rail systems alterations and client costs required to make the station operational. This figure may change depending, for example, on future decisions on the scope and programme for the works.

Faith Schools (West Midlands)

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many private faith schools there are in the West Midlands region, broken down by constituency.

Stephen Twigg: The figures provided by independent schools at the last annual schools census for which figures are available, January 2004, are shown in the following table.
	
		Independent schools: number of schools by faith January 2004
		
			 By parliamentary constituency in the West Midlands Government office region No religious character Church of England Roman Catholic Muslim Other Christian faith 1 Other 
		
		
			 Aldridge-Brownhills 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Birmingham, Edgbaston 5 3 1 0 2 0 
			 Birmingham, Erdington 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Birmingham, Hall Green 2 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Birmingham, Hodge Hill 0 0 0 1 0 0 
			 Birmingham, Ladywood 4 0 0 3 1 0 
			 Birmingham, Northfield 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Birmingham, Perry Barr 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Birmingham, Selly Oak 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Birmingham, Sparkbrook and Small Heath 3 0 0 5 0 1 
			 Birmingham, Yardley 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Bromsgrove 3 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Burton 2 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Cannock Chase 0 0 0 0 2 0 
			 Coventry North East 1 0 0 1 0 0 
			 Coventry North West 1 0 0 0 2 0 
			 Coventry South 4 1 0 0 1 1 
			 Dudley North 2 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Dudley South 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Halesowen and Rowley Regis 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Hereford 1 2 0 0 1 0 
			 Leominster 6 1 1 0 1 0 
			 Lichfield 5 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Ludlow 5 1 1 0 0 0 
			 Meriden 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Mid Worcestershire 4 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Newcastle-under-Lyme 3 0 0 0 0 0 
			 North Shropshire 5 2 0 0 0 0 
			 North Warwickshire 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Nuneaton 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Redditch 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Rugby and Kenilworth 1 2 2 0 1 0 
			 Shrewsbury and Atcham 6 2 1 0 1 0 
			 Solihull 4 0 0 0 1 0 
			 South Staffordshire 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Stafford 4 1 0 0 1 0 
			 Staffordshire Moorlands 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Stoke-on-Trent Central 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Stoke-on-Trent North 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Stoke-on-Trent South 0 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Stone 0 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Stourbridge 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Stratford-on-Avon 4 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Sutton Coldfield 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Tamworth 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Telford 2 0 0 0 0 0 
			 The Wrekin 2 2 0 0 1 0 
			 Walsall North 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Walsall South 1 0 0 2 2 0 
			 Warley 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Warwick and Leamington 3 1 0 0 4 0 
			 West Bromwich East 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 West Bromwich West 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 West Worcestershire 3 3 0 0 1 0 
			 Wolverhampton North East 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Wolverhampton South East 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Wolverhampton South West 3 0 0 1 0 0 
			 Worcester 3 2 1 0 1 0 
			 Wyre Forest 4 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Total 108 26 9 13 30 2 
		
	
	(2) Includes schools of mixed denomination or other Christian beliefs.

Official Residences

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the official residences for which her Department is responsible; who occupies each one; what the annual cost is of running each property; what contribution the occupants of each make towards running costs; what the total capital and refurbishment expenditure has been on those properties in each of the past five years; how much money was spent in each property on (a) flowers and plants, (b) wine and entertaining, (c) food, (d) telephone bills and (e) electricity and gas in 2003–04; how many (i) domestic and (ii) maintenance staff are employed at each property, broken down by post; and what the total cost of staff employment was in 2003–04.

Stephen Twigg: The Department for Education and Skills is not responsible for any official residences.

Departmental Policies

Lorna Fitzsimons: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will set out statistical information relating as closely as possible to the Rochdale constituency, with effects of her Department's actions and policies on Rochdale since 1997.

Stephen Twigg: The Rochdale constituency lies within Rochdale local education authority. The most recent Key Stage 2 and GCSE and equivalents Achievement for pupils attending schools in Rochdale are given in the following tables.
	
		Key Stage 2 Achievements of 11-year-old pupils attending schools in the Rochdale constituency
		
			  Percentage of pupils gaining level 4 and above 
			  1997 2004 Percentage point improvement 1997–2004 
		
		
			 Rochdale—English(3) 54 67 13 
			 Rochdale—Maths(3) 56 65 9 
			 National Average—English(4) 63 78 15 
			 National Average—Maths(4) 61 74 13 
		
	
	(3) Pupils attending schools in Rochdale constituency.
	(4) The average for all schools in England (including independent schools)
	
		GCSE and equivalents(5) Achievement of 15-year-old pupils(6) attending schools in the Rochdale constituency
		
			 Percentage of 15-year-olds gaining 1997 2004 Percentage point improvement 1997–2004 
		
		
			 Rochdale—5+A*–C 37.1 41.7 4.6 
			 Rochdale—5+A*–G 81.1 86.2 5.1 
			 National Average—5+A*–C 45.1 53.7 8.6 
			 National Average—5+A*–G 87.0 88.8 1.8 
		
	
	(5) For 2004 only results incorporate GCSEs, GNVQs and a wide range of other qualifications approved pre-16. Prior to 2004 results are based on GCSEs and GNVQs only.
	(6) As standard the results reported relate to pupils aged 15 at the start of the academic year i.e. 31 August and therefore reaching the end of compulsory education at the end of the school year
	At national level, standards have improved across all key stages. The Primary and Key Stage 3 National Strategies, together with the measures we have taken to help schools in the toughest areas are continuing to deliver better results.
	Further information by constituency, is provided within the Department's 'In Your Area' website available at http://www.dfes.gov.uk/inyourarea. Where information is not available at the constituency level it has been provided at local education authority level.
	This website allows users to access key facts and local information about education and skills based on postcodes. The data available within the site offers comparisons between 1997 and the latest available year and covers five geographies. These are parliamentary constituency, ward, local authority district, local education authority, Government office region. England figures are also provided.
	The information available within the website is grouped in a number of broad categories including Literacy and Numeracy at age 11, Literacy and Numeracy at age 14, GCSE/GNVQ results, Pupils with Special Educational Needs, School Initiatives, School Workforce, School Funding and Resources, Children's Social Services, Early Years, Class Sizes, Post 16, Higher Education and Adult Education
	Additional information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, my Department is investigating ways in which we can disseminate more information about the effects of our policies at a local level. The In Your Area website will be further developed over the coming months to include additional information about Adult Education, School Funding, School Initiatives, School Performance, School Workforce and Post 16.

Teacher Training Agency

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the administration budget of the Teacher Training Agency was in the last financial year for which figures are available; and what allocations have been made for each year to 2009–10.

Stephen Twigg: The Teacher Training Agency's grant letter for 2005–06 says the following about the TTA's administrative costs taking into account efficiency savings levels measured against the 2004–05 baseline.
	"We have agreed the following:
	an administrative costs baseline of £23.8 million for 2004–05
	£22.5 million for 2005–06
	£21.2 million for 2006–07
	£19.9 million for 2007–08
	Administrative costs here mean all costs involved in running the TTA's business as distinct from delivering front-line services."
	Figures for 2008–09 and 2009–10 are not available.

Departmental Policies

Martyn Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to Clwyd, South constituency, the effect on the constituency of policies pursued by his Department at the Council of Ministers since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The Chancellor of the Exchequer attends the ECOFIN formation of the Council of Ministers. One policy that benefits the Clwyd, South constituency is Structural Funds and Cohesion Policy, agreed as part of the EU budget. At ECOFIN, the UK has consistently argued both that the overall EU budget should be constrained, and focused on value for money, and also that spending should provide a good budgetary deal for the UK. In the current Financial Perspective, part of my hon. Friend's constituency is included in the west Wales and the valleys area, for which the Government secured objective 1 status at the Berlin European Council in 1999. The outcome also included funding through objective 3, which applies in the parts of Clwyd, South not covered by objective 1, and objective 2 which also applies in some parts of Clwyd, South. Based on this, in subsequent spending reviews, the Treasury has made available extra allocations, outside the Barnett formula, for the Welsh Objective 1 programmes, including in the 2004 Spending Review £106 million for 2005–06, £128 million for 2006–07 and £147 million for 2007–08.
	This has allowed the Objective 1 programme so far, for example, to commit £1 billion to 1,300 projects reporting the creation and safeguarding of some 84,000 gross jobs. This funding, together with other Government policies, has helped to support the Clwyd, South economy, to reduce unemployment from 1,422 in 1997 to 1,058 in 2000 and to 752 now—overall, since May 1997, claimant unemployment has fallen by 48 per cent., while long-term unemployment and long-term youth unemployment have fallen by 88 and 81 per cent. respectively.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Committee on Excise Duties met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Committee on Excise Duties meets in Brussels approximately twice a year as determined by the European Commission.
	The Committee met once during the Italian Presidency, on 12–14 December 2003, once during the Irish Presidency, on 1–2 April 2004 and once during the Dutch Presidency, on 1–2 July 2004.
	Officials from HM Customs and Excise represented the UK.

Pensioners (Employment)

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of (a) men aged 65 years or over and (b) women aged 60 years or over are in (i) full-time and (ii) part-time employment; and if he will provide corresponding estimates at three-yearly intervals since 1975.

Stephen Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Steve Webb, dated 28 February 2005
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about employment. I am replying in his absence. (217997)
	The attached table gives estimates, based on the Labour Force Survey, of the proportion of men aged 65 and over and women aged 60 and over who were in full and part-time employment for the three month periods ending May every three years from 1986 to 2004. Data for earlier periods are not available on a consistent basis.
	As with any statistical sample survey, estimates from the Labour Force Survey are subject to sampling variability.
	
		People over retirement age(12) working full or part-time as a percentage(13) of population over retirement age Percentage (not seasonally adjusted)
		
			 Three month period Full-time Part-time 
			 ending May All Men Women All Men Women 
		
		
			 1986 1.9 2.4 1.6 4.8 4.8 4.8 
			 1989 2.2 2.7 1.9 5.7 5.7 5.6 
			 1992 2.5 3.1 2.2 5.6 5.4 5.7 
			 1995 2.2 2.7 1.9 5.7 5.3 5.9 
			 1998 2.1 2.5 1.8 5.5 4.9 5.9 
			 2001 2.2 2.4 2.0 5.7 4.6 6.3 
			 2004 2.6 2.8 2.4 6.7 5.7 7.4 
		
	
	(12) Defined as men aged 65 and over and women aged 60 and over.
	(13) Percentages are based on people working full or part-time as a percentage of all those in the relevant age groups.
	Source:
	ONS Labour Force Survey.

Afghanistan

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what measures his Department is taking to limit the number of deaths and injuries in Afghanistan resulting from unexploded ammunition; and what proportion of such deaths and injuries has been of children.

Hilary Benn: DFID is supporting mine and undeveloped ordinance clearance in Afghanistan. In the period 2002–04 we provided £3.8 million to the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) for its clearance work in Afghanistan.
	DFID is also supporting the Halo Trust's Weapons and Ammunition Disposal Programme through its contribution to the Global Conflict Prevention Pool (GCPP). In 2004–05, the GCPP has provided £430,000 to this programme, which is focused on destroying excess ammunition and small arms, much of which is unserviceable and unsafe.
	It is difficult to obtain precise information casualties from landmine and unexploded ammunition in Afghanistan. However, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross, in 2003 (the latest year for which there are figures) there were 846 new casualties, of which 184 resulted in death. Of the 846 casualties, 384 casualties were children under the age of 18 years. The information available does not provide a breakdown by age of the casualties resulting in death.

Bosnia-Herzegovina

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the principal lessons learned by his Department on reconstruction and development during the reconstruction period in Bosnia-Herzegovina were.

Hilary Benn: DFID, MoD, the FCO and the Cabinet Office are setting up the 'Post Conflict Reconstruction Unit' to do more to improve the United Kingdom's capacity to deal with post conflict stabilisation. The experience of reconstruction and development in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the reconstruction phase, while not recorded formally, did highlight a number of lessons that the new unit will consider as well as lessons identified from other post conflict stabilisation and reconstruction scenarios where HMG has been involved. It is hoped to link this process to the US Office of the Co-ordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilisation and draw from the UN Lessons Learned Unit.

Iraq

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what investigations the Government has undertaken on the possible involvement of UK (a) individuals and (b) companies in the mismanagement of Iraq reconstruction funds.

Hilary Benn: No investigations have been carried out by the Government on the possible involvement of UK individuals or companies in the mismanagement of Iraqi reconstruction funds.
	The UK supported the establishment of the International Advisory and Monitoring Board (IAMB) —mandated by United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1483 of 22 May 2003—as an independent, objective body to oversee coalition management of Iraqi oil revenues and reconstruction spending.
	The IAMB'S report on the two independent audits of coalition use of Iraqi funds in the Development Fund for Iraq (DFI) states that "all known oil proceeds . . . have been properly and transparently accounted for in the DFI". IAMB audit reports are available on the IAMB website at www.iamb.info.

Uganda

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what development assistance has been provided by the UK Government to Uganda in each year since 1997; and what it has been spent on.

Hilary Benn: The development assistance provided by the UK Government as bilateral aid to Uganda in each year since 1997–98 is shown in the following table. This is mainly in the form of Poverty Reduction Budget Support, project or sector aid in health and education, technical co-operation and grants to Civil Society Organisations. Further details are available in Table 7.1 of our annual publication "Statistics on International Development", copies of which are available in the Library of the House.
	
		Bilateral aid to Uganda £ thousand
		
			 Fiscal year Total UK Government expenditure 
		
		
			 1997–98 59,325 
			 1998–99 64,261 
			 1999–2000 90,286 
			 2000–01 97,572 
			 2001–02 68,724 
			 2002–03 54,868 
			 2003–04 59,614 
		
	
	Source:
	Statistics on International Development
	In addition the UK supports Uganda through its multilateral contributions.
	Figures are given as follows for the imputed UK share of EC aid for calendar years over the same period.
	
		UK share of EC aid (imputed)
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 1997 4.7 
			 1998 5.0 
			 1999 4.9 
			 2000 5.4 
			 2001 7.5 
			 2002(14) 2.7 
		
	
	(14) Most recent year available.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Committee on implementation of the multiannual programme for enterprise and entrepreneurship, in particular for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) met; when and where these meetings took place; which UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement.

Nigel Griffiths: The Enterprise Programme Management Committee met twice during the Italian presidency, on 4 July and 12 November 2003; once during the Irish presidency, on 18 March 2004; and twice during the Netherlands presidency on 8 July and 8 December 2004. Each meeting took place at the European Commission in Brussels. One member of the Small Business Service attended two of these meetings and two members attended the other three meetings. The Committee fulfils an important task in managing the Multi-Annual Programme, which helps to improve enterprise and entrepreneurship policy at Governmental and Commission levels and provides support to businesses. The UK nominates experts for the Programme's project groups that advise on aspects of enterprise and entrepreneurship. The Programme is due to be replaced by the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme in 2007. My hon. Friends the Economic Secretary and the Minister for Food, Farming and Sustainable Energy and I have jointly sent UK recommendations to the European Commission on the content of the new Programme.

Petrol Stations

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many retail petrol stations there were in the UK in each year since 1997 (a) in total and (b) broken down by region.

Mike O'Brien: The Energy Institute, formerly known as Institute of Petroleum, produces an annual "Retail Survey" of the number of retail petrol filling stations in the UK. Historically, the regional breakdown data on petrol filling stations numbers has not been collected.
	
		
			  Total UK retail petrol filling stations 
		
		
			 1997 14,824 
			 1998 13,758 
			 1999 13,716 
			 2000 13,043 
			 2001 12,201 
			 2002 11,425 
			 2003 10,535 
			 2004 Figure to be published

Ministerial Vehicles

David Taylor: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what proportion of the fleet of ministerial vehicles used low sulphur fuels;
	(2)  how many ministerial car journeys (a) over 10 miles and (b) under 10 miles were undertaken in (a) 1998 and (b) 2004;
	(3)  what procedures are in place to measure the annual carbon dioxide emissions from ministerial vehicles;
	(4)  what steps have been taken since 1997 to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted from ministerial vehicles.

Alan Milburn: The responsibility for the provision of ministerial cars and drivers has been delegated under the terms of the Framework Document to the Government Car and Despatch Agency. I have asked its Chief Executive Mr. Nick Matheson to write to the hon. Member. Copies of his letter will be placed in the Library and will be printed in the Official Report.

Defence Expenditure (Scotland)

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much of its personnel budget for financial years (a) 2001–02, (b) 2000–01, (c) 1999–2000, (d) 1998–99 and (e) 1997–98 the Defence Geographic and Imagery Intelligence Agency spent in Scotland in (i) monetary terms and (ii) as a percentage of the total personnel budget for that year; how many personnel were employed in Scotland in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The Defence Geographic and Imagery Intelligence Agency (DGIA) was established in April 2000.
	The Agency has not directly employed any staff in Scotland since its formation, although members of both JARIC and GEG have deployed to Scotland in support of Defence Training Exercises.

Defence Procurement

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much and what percentage of the UK procurement budget was spent in non-NATO countries in each year since 1997; what these figures represent as a percentage of the total defence budget in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: Estimates of equipment expenditure in non-NATO countries since 1997 are provided in the following table.
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 1997–98 35 
			 1998–99 45 
			 1999–2000 30 
			 2000–01 30 
			 2001–02 25 
			 2002–03 50 
			 2003–04 80 
		
	
	These include sums spent with the United Kingdom owned companies and their subsidiaries attributed to these locations. The numbers have been rounded to the nearest £5 million.
	Because of lack of consistency over time, and limited coverage in the defence procurement Vote 1 , we have employed the Procurement Expenditure series that was published by the Defence Analytical Services Agency 2 in deriving the following percentages:
	1 Class 1, Vote 3, Systems Procurement and Research, was discontinued after 1998–99.
	2 The figures used were taken from Table 1.7, UK Defence Statistics 2002.
	
		
			  Percentage of procurement expenditure 
		
		
			 1997–98 0.37 
			 1998–99 0.44 
			 1999–2000 0.30 
			 2000–01 0.29 
			 2001–02 (16)n/a 
			 2002–03 (16)n/a 
			 2003–04 (16)n/a 
		
	
	(16) With the introduction of Resource Accounting and Budgeting, the Procurement Expenditure series was discontinued.
	As a percentage of defence expenditure these figures constitute:
	
		
			  Percentage of Defence expenditure 
		
		
			 1997–98 0.17 
			 1998–99 0.20 
			 1999–2000 0.13 
			 2000–01 0.13 
			 2001–02 (17)0.10 
			 2002–03 (17)0.19 
			 2003–04 (17)0.27 
		
	
	(17) With the introduction of RAB there is a break in series in 2001–02. The "cash" defence expenditure figure is no longer prepared: MOD's net cash requirement has been employed in subsequent calculations to provide a figure that is roughly comparable.

Gibraltar

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which Ministers in his Department have visited Gibraltar in the last six months; how long each visit was; what the reason for the visit was; whom each Minister met; how many visits by Trident nuclear submarines there were to (a) Spain and (b) Gibraltar in the last three years; and what the purpose of each visit was.

Adam Ingram: Two Defence Ministers have visited Gibraltar over the last six months. My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Defence (Mr. Caplin), visited on 13–14 September 2004. He met Jewish Community Leaders, Royal Naval Hospital staff, Welfare Staff, Chief Minister, Regiment of Gibraltar members and veterans, His Excellency the Governor. The primary purpose of the visit was discussions relating to the Royal Naval Hospital Gibraltar. I visited Gibraltar on 10 February 2005. I met the Chief Minister, HQ British Forces Gibraltar staff, the Deputy Governor, Regiment of Gibraltar and Gibraltar Squadron personnel. The primary purpose of my visit was to inform the Chief Minister of the MOD's decision to outsource facilities management services in Gibraltar. There have been no visits to Spain or Gibraltar by Trident nuclear submarines in the last three years. .

Gibraltar

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the number of jobs in his Department in Gibraltar; and what plans he has to change the number.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence currently employs 519 military personnel, 61 UK based civil servants and 1,038 locally employed civilians in Gibraltar. It was announced last week that, in line with Government policy to obtain best value for defence from the tax payer's money, we are implementing in Gibraltar the current UK and overseas best practice model for delivering facilities management. This involves outsourcing all the activities of the Gibraltar Defence Estates and the Joint Logistic Unit (except laundry and Motor Transport Engineering which are subject to separate efficiency proposals). Some two military, five UK based civilian and 296 locally employed civilian posts fall within the scope of the contract and are likely to transfer to the successful contractor. In addition to this initiative, a review of the supply of support services (eg janitorial, catering and motor transport) is also underway. The review team has yet to report, but a reduction of about 70–90 posts is likely if an in-house option is secured. If not, up to 300 posts could be contractorised.
	In addition, the Defence Communications and Services Agency (DCSA) in Gibraltar is also undertaking a review of its structure to improve effectiveness. It is planned that the DCSA will reduce the total number of staff and change the balance of employee types in favour of locally employed civilians. This is separate from the Defence Information Infrastructure (DII) initiative, which is due to impact on Gibraltar in 2007–08 and could lead to further outsourcing proposals. The DII initiative will replace our current administrative IT system. It is too early to assess what the impact will be, but up to 10 posts may be affected. As with all organisations, the MOD in Gibraltar will change and adapt to reflect an evolving defence need and the most effective way of delivering it.

Iraq

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the longest period of time that a (a) man and (b) woman has been held in detention or imprisonment by British military forces in Iraq.

Adam Ingram: The longest period of time that a male security internee has been held by the United Kingdom forces is 22 months, since April 2003. For part of this period UK security internees were held by US forces at Camp Bucca. Since December 2003. all UK internees have been held at the UK-run Divisional Temporary Detention Facility.
	Records indicate that the only female security internee held at the DTDF by UK forces was in custody for three months, between November 2003 and February 2004.
	The only people currently in UK custody are security internees. The UK does not hold any criminal detainees or other categories of prisoners.

Nepal

Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to review the provision by his Department of military assistance and training to the Government of Nepal following King Gyanendra's abolition of democracy in the country; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: Her Majesty's Government is extremely concerned by the recent events in Nepal and by the actions of the King there. We are monitoring the situation as it develops and working closely with interested countries such as India and the US to achieve a co-ordinated international response. As announced on 21 February, we have suspended plans to deliver to Nepal a package of non-lethal military equipment. We are also keeping under review other aspects of our policy with regard to Nepal, including the issue of military training.

Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what figures the Government uses as representing the total number of service personnel who have died in the troubles in Northern Ireland (a) on active duty, (b) through suicide and (c) through accidents.

Ivor Caplin: The Ministry of Defence does not hold centrally compiled data covering deaths that occurred before 1984 as information on them is known to be unreliable.
	During the period 1 January 1984 and 31 December 2004, there were a total of 228 deaths of regular service personnel in Northern Ireland. Of these, 132 occurred on-duty and 49 occurred off-duty. The duty status of 47 personnel cannot be readily identified.
	The term "active service" has various meanings in different contexts. However, the Service Discipline Act contains a specific definition for the purposes of that legislation. In order to avoid a more restrictive interpretation than may be intended by the question, the above figure is based on all deaths that have occurred on-duty.
	Forty-five of the 228 deaths were suicide or open verdict deaths, a further 86 of the 228 deaths were due to accidents. Some of the suicide and open verdict deaths, and deaths due to accidents occurred on duty and some occurred off duty. There are currently five deaths that are awaiting a coroner's verdict.
	In addition, between 1 January 1984 and 31 December 2004, there were 32 deaths among non-regular service personnel (TA, Royal Irish Regiments 3–9, NRPS, Reserve) in Northern Ireland. Of these, 10 were due to suicide and open verdicts. Information on the cause of the remaining 22 has not been centrally compiled.

Porton Down

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the letter reference D/US of S/K 0565/05/L of 8 February to the hon. Member for Linlithgow, when he expects to obtain a date for the Judicial Review into aspects of the death of service volunteers at Porton Down in the 1950s and 1960s.

Ivor Caplin: An application seeking permission to judicially review the inquest into the death of Ronald Maddison has been filed in court. The parties are due to acknowledge receipt formally. It is anticipated that formal permission to go to judicial review, if granted, will be given during April, with potential for the hearing in late spring or early summer.

Procurement Costs

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions his Department has had with BAE Systems on (a) price and (b) time variations on the (i) Nimrod and (ii) Type 45 destroyer projects.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence is in constant discussion with BAE SYSTEMS on a wide range of issues on both of these projects including time and cost.
	Negotiations are planned for the latter part of 2005 leading to a contract for the production phase of Nimrod MRA4, and to complete the contracting arrangements for the second batch of Type 45s (ships 4–6).

World Security

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the nature is of the standing commitment referred to in each of the tables in the annex to Cm 6269, "Delivering Security in a Changing World: Future Capabilities".

Adam Ingram: The annex to the "Delivering Security in a Changing World: Future Capabilities" White Paper (Cm 6269) set out the force elements required to deliver UK defence policy, including meeting a range of 'Standing Commitments'. The force elements shown in the 'Standing Commitments' column in the annex are those permanently committed to a range of Military Tasks which are required concurrently with the forces for contingent operations (as described in the introduction to the annex). These include Strategic Intelligence; Nuclear Deterrence; Integrity of UK Waters and Airspace; and Defence and Security of the Overseas Territories.
	These Military Tasks (grouped under the headings: Standing Strategic Tasks and Standing Home and Overseas Commitments) are described in Supporting Essay 2 in the "Delivering Security in a Changing World" White Paper (Cm 6041) of December 2003. These 'Standing Commitments' are part of the Department's overall approach to force structure planning. They should not be confused with the routine activities on which military units are employed on a day to day basis (tasks known colloquially as current military tasks or 'standing tasks' by the Royal Navy).

China

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the differences are between the European Code of Conduct on Arms Export criteria and the European Arms Embargo criteria as they apply to China; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports was adopted by the Council of the European Union on 8 June 1998. It contains eight criteria which member states must follow when assessing applications for export of items on an agreed Common List of Military Equipment, which extends significantly beyond directly lethal weapons. In the UK, the Code is applied through the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, set out in a Statement given to my hon. Friend the Member for Crawley (Laura Moffatt) on 26 October 2000, Official Report, columns 199–203W, by the then Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr. Hain). The Code also contains the obligation on member states to provide data for an annual report on EU arms exports, and a denial notification and consultation mechanism. The embargo has no such transparency arrangements.
	The EU Arms Embargo on China predates the Code and the establishment of the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy. In contrast with the Code, member states are free to interpret the embargo as they see fit, and there is no common understanding of its scope. The UK's interpretation was set out by the then Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the late Derek Fatchett, in his reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Gedling (Vernon Coaker) on 3 June 1998, Official Report, columns 240–41.

Diplomatic Posts

John Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what effects on UK interests in South America he expects there to be as a result of the closure of the British embassy in Asuncion, Paraguay.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 28 February 2005
	The decision to close the British embassy in Asuncion was taken based on the need to align our resources with our priorities, to maximise efficiency and ensure that the UK has a cost-effective and flexible network of overseas representation.
	Her Majesty's Government continue to engage actively with Latin American Governments. I have travelled extensively in the region, taking the opportunity to discuss important bilateral and multilateral issues. The UK and Latin America share many values and international concerns and I have no doubt that our strong links will continue.
	As we have made clear to the Paraguayan Government, we aim to conduct future relations and look after UK interests, via the accreditation of our ambassador in Buenos Aires and through the appointment of an honorary consul in Asuncion.

EU Enlargement

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect of Article 1–5 of the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe on (a) future internal enlargement of the EU whereby part of an existing member state becomes a separate member state of the EU, (b) transfer of territory from one member state to another and (c) the scope of possible arrangements between the UK and Spain on the future of Gibraltar.

Denis MacShane: In relation to (a) and (b) , the hypothetical implications, legal and political, of part of an existing EU member state becoming independent or of the transfer of territory from one member state to another would have to be considered at the time in the light of all the circumstances. In relation to (c) the EU Constitutional Treaty preserves continuity for Gibraltar's status.

European Constitution

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether (a) a decision in Parliament and (b) a referendum will be required for the accessions of Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey to the EU if the European Constitution is ratified and accession negotiations are successful.

Denis MacShane: Romania and Bulgaria officially closed their accession negotiations at the European Council in December 2004. The EU will sign an Accession Treaty with both countries on 25 April with the aim of completing their accession on 1 January 2007. As in the case of previous enlargements, a referendum is not necessary but legislation will be needed to amend the European Communities Act 1972 to give effect to the Accession Treaty in UK law. The same procedure will apply for Turkey if its accession negotiations are successful.
	For applications made after entry into force of the Constitutional Treaty, there would be one change to the existing procedures. The existing Treaties require an application to join the EU to be "addressed to the Council". The Constitutional Treaty would require, in addition, that in future
	"The European Parliament and national parliaments shall be notified of this application".
	But the remaining stages of an accession process (including those in the UK) would, under the Constitutional Treaty, proceed along the same lines as at present.

European Court of Justice

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the (a) name and (b) nationality is of each member of the European Court of Justice; and if he will list for each member (i) any known political affiliation, (ii) any known religious affiliation or denomination and (iii) any known membership of trade unions, Masonic organisations, religious groups or other bodies.

Denis MacShane: The members of the European Court of Justice are:
	Vassilios Skouris, Greek
	Francis Geoffrey Jacobs, British
	Claus Christian Gulmann, Danish
	Antonio Mario La Pergola, Italian
	Jean-Pierre Puissochet, French
	Philippe Léger, French
	Peter Jann, Austrian
	Dámaso Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer, Spanish
	Romain Schintgen, Luxembourgeois
	Ninon Colneric, German
	Stig von Bahr, Swedish
	Antonio Tizzano, Italian
	José Narciso da Cunha Rodrigues, Portuguese
	Christiaan Willem Anton Timmermans, Dutch
	Leendert A. Geelhoed, Dutch
	Christine Stix-Hacki, Austrian
	Allan Rosas, Finnish
	Rosario Silva de Lapuerta, Spanish
	Koen Lenaerts, Belgian
	Juliane Kokott, German
	Luis Miguel Poiares Pessoa Maduro, Portuguese
	Konrad Hermann Theodor Schiemann, British
	Jerzy Makarczyk, Polish
	Pranas Kuris, Lithuanian
	Endre Juhász, Hungarian
	George Arestis, Greek
	Anthony Borg Barthet, Maltese
	Marko Ilevic, Slovenian
	Jiri Malenovsk?, Czech
	Jan Klucka, Slovakian
	Uno Lohmus, Estonian
	Egils Levits, Latvian
	Aindrias 0 Caoimh, Irish
	Roger Grass, French
	Like judges in most democracies members of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) are not required to disclose the religious, political or other details sought by the hon. Member. Details of the members' backgrounds can, however, be found on the ECJ website: http://www.curia.eu.int/.

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his statement on Iraq on 31 January 2005, Official Report, column 573, what the source is of the statement that the remains of 300,000 people had been buried in mass graves in Iraq; and what steps the Government have taken to verify these figures.

Bill Rammell: In May 2003 Human Rights Watch estimated that there were at least 290,000 people missing in Iraq and stated
	"the answer to their whereabouts likely lies in these graves".
	USAID is quoted as estimating in January this year that there are between 260 and 270 mass graves in Iraq and they estimate that between 300,000 and 400,000 people are buried in them. More recent estimates of the number of mass graves have revised the figure downward to 187. The final figure will not be known until all the graves have been completely exhumed. The figures we have used are the best estimates available to us at the moment.
	We are working with the authorities in Iraq and in co-ordination with the United Nations to establish a national centre for missing persons and exhumations policy in Baghdad. It will provide the forensic and social expertise to manage the sensitive task of helping reunite families with the remains of their lost relatives and provide forensic evidence to support prosecutions of those who perpetrated mass murder. We have provided training for forensic and other experts who will carry out the exhumations and we are also providing judicial, prosecutor and investigator training for the Iraq Special Tribunal tasked with bringing to justice those responsible for mass killings in Iraq. So far one gravesite in Hatra has been partially exhumed to obtain forensic evidence for prosecutions and a second exhumation is planned soon. No official humanitarian exhumations have begun partly due to poor security but also because the infrastructure has not yet been established to manage this properly. We will continue to work with the Iraqi authorities and the United Nations to establish this infrastructure so that humanitarian exhumations can start as soon as possible.

Russia

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when (a) he and (b) a delegation from his Department last visited Russia.

Jack Straw: holding answer 24 February 2005
	My last visit to Russia was from 6–7 July 2004, although I regularly see Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov in the margins of international meetings and speak to him on the telephone.
	Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers and staff frequently make working visits to Russia. The most recent was on 21–22 February, when my hon. Friend the Minister responsible for the UK's relations with Russia (Mr. Rammell) visited Moscow. In addition to his programme of meetings with the Russian Government, Mr. Rammell launched a major UK-Russia education initiative for the North Caucasus and took part in a conference on "British Political Traditions and Russian Reform".

Russia

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he plans to meet the Russian Foreign Minister.

Jack Straw: holding answer 24 February 2005
	I plan to have a bilateral meeting with the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, in London on 1 March. Mr. Lavrov will attend "The London Meeting on Supporting the Palestinian Authority" the same day.

Russia

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether (a) he and (b) other Ministers in his Department have plans to visit Russia.

Jack Straw: I do not have any plans to visit Russia in the immediate future. However, I will be meeting Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov in London on 1 March.
	As my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Rammell) has visited Russia very recently, there are not yet plans for another visit by a Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister.

UN Committee on Torture

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the United Nations Committee on Torture's conclusions in relation to the UK's adherence to the Convention against Torture in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Bill Rammell: The United Kingdom Government notes the Concluding Observations of the United Nations Committee against Torture following its dialogue with the Committee on the UK's 4th Periodic Report on 17 and 18 November, The Government always takes seriously the recommendations made by any of the UN's treaty monitoring bodies.
	The Government are studying the Committee's observations and recommendations in detail, including on the application of the UN Convention in Iraq and Afghanistan, and will respond to the Committee well within the period of one year set by the Committee.

Alcohol-related Hospital Admissions

Parmjit Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many admissions to (a) the Leicester Royal Infirmary accident and emergency department and (b) accident and emergency departments in England were found to be directly caused by alcohol consumption in each year since 1997.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested is not available in the format requested. However, information for finished admission episodes for alcohol-related incidents is shown in the following tables.
	
		Alcohol related accidents(18): count of finished admission episodes for listed trusts, national health service hospitals in England—1996–97 to 2003–04
		
			  Leicester Royal Infirmary NHS trust Total figures for Leicester Royal Infirmary NHS trust, Leicester general hospital NHS trust, Glenfield hospital NHS trust University hospitals of Leicester NHS trust 
		
		
			 1996–97 77 80 — 
			 1997–98 79 83 — 
			 1998–99 140 144 — 
			 1999–2000 85 89 — 
			 2000–01 — — 83 
			 2001–02 — — 75 
			 2002–03 — — 98 
			 2003–04 — — 207 
		
	
	(18) ICD—10 codes = "alcohol related accidents" as advised by NHSIA Clinical Coding Service Primary Diagnosis:
	SOO—T74 Injuries (excludes certain cause of injury).
	Secondary Diagnosis:
	F10—Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol.
	R78.0—Finding of alcohol in blood.
	X45—Alcohol poisoning and exposure to alcohol.
	Y90—Evidence of alcohol involvement determined by alcohol level.
	Y91—Evidence of alcohol involvement determined by level of intoxication.
	Notes:
	1. The Leicester Royal Infirmary ceased to exist as an independent trust in 2000–01, when it merged with Leicester general hospital NHS trust and Glenfield hospital NHS trust to form university hospitals of Leicester NHS trust. Figures have been provided in column one for Leicester Royal Infirmary NHS trust, and a total in column two in order to provide equivalent figures for the three trusts that now constitute the university hospitals of Leicester NHS trust column three.
	2. Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health.
	
		Alcohol related accidents(19): count of finished admission episodes for listed trusts. national health service hospitals in England—1996–97 to 2003–04
		
			  Finished admission episodes 
		
		
			 1996–97 23,546 
			 1997–98 25,294 
			 1998–99 24,157 
			 1999–2000 24,519 
			 2000–01 23,570 
			 2001–02 23,198 
			 2002–03 22,787 
			 2003–04 27,902 
		
	
	(19) ICD—10 codes = "alcohol related accidents" as advised by NHS Information Authority clinical coding service.
	Primary Diagnosis:
	SOO—T74 Injuries (excludes certain cause of injury).
	Secondary Diagnosis:
	F10—Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol.
	R78.0—Finding of alcohol in blood.
	X45—Alcohol poisoning and exposure to alcohol.
	Y90—Evidence of alcohol involvement determined by alcohol level.
	Y91—Evidence of alcohol involvement determined by level of intoxication.
	Notes:
	Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health.

Ambulance Services

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many ambulances are operational in Lancashire during the (a) day and (b) night.

Melanie Johnson: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Ambulance Services

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average time patients waited to be taken home by ambulance following discharge was at (a) Chorley Hospital and (b) Preston Hospital in the last period for which figures are available.

Melanie Johnson: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Drug Misusers

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many drug misusers were also diagnosed with mental illness in each year since 1986; and what proportion these figures represent of the total number of drug misusers in each year.

Melanie Johnson: This data is not collected centrally.

Health Service Expenditure

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much public funding has been spent on health in Morecambe and Lunesdale in each of the last 10 years.

Melanie Johnson: Expenditure based on individual constituencies is not available, nor are data prior to 1996–97. The expenditure in Morecambe Bay Health Authority area and Cumbria and Lancashire Strategic Health Authority area is shown in the table.
	
		Expenditure in Morecambe Bay Health Authority and Cumbria and Lancashire Strategic Health Authority
		
			 Morecambe Bay Health Authority area £000 
		
		
			 1996–97 202,763 
			 1997–98 203,353 
			 1998–99 253,162 
			 1999–2000 327,800 
			 2000–01 424,583 
			 2001–02 555,771 
			 2002–03 n/a 
			 2003–04 n/a 
			   
			 Cumbria and Lancashire Strategic Health Authority area 
			 1996–97 n/a 
			 1997–98 n/a 
			 1998–99 n/a 
			 1999–2000 n/a 
			 2000–01 n/a 
			 2001–02 n/a 
			 2002–03 2,337,249 
			 2003–04 2,421,861 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Expenditure is taken from audited health authority summarisation forms and primary care trust summarisation schedules, which are prepared on a resource basis and therefore differ from cash allocations in the year. Figures are given in cash terms.
	2. Allocations per weighted head of population provide a much more reliable measure to identify differences between funding of health authorities and primary care trusts.
	3. Figures for 1996–97 to 2001–02 have been prepared using gross expenditure figures. Figures for 2002–03 and 2003–04 have been adjusted to eliminate expenditure which would be double counted where an authority acts as a lead in commissioning healthcare or other services.
	4. In many health authorities there are factors which distort the expenditure. These include:
	the health authority acting in a lead capacity to commission healthcare or fund training on behalf of other health bodies; and
	asset revaluations in national health service trusts being funded through health authorities or primary care trusts.
	Cumbria and Lancashire acting as paying authority for student bursaries.
	5. For these reasons expenditure cannot be compared reliably between health authorities or between different years.
	Sources:
	1. Morecambe Bay Health Authority audited accounts 1996–97 and 1997–98.
	2. Morecambe Bay Health Authority audited summarisation forms 1998–99 to 2001–02.
	3. Cumbria and Lancashire Strategic Health Authority audited summarisation forms 2002–03 and 2003–04.
	4. Primary care trust audited summarisation schedules 2003–04 for bodies within the above health authority areas.

HIV/AIDS

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost to (a) Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Primary Care Trust and (b) Preston Primary Care Trust for treating AIDS patients was in the last year for which figures are available.

Melanie Johnson: The information requested is not collected centrally. In line with our policy of "Shifting the Balance of Power", primary care trusts (PCTs) now control over 80 per cent., of the national health service budget and are responsible for planning and developing services according to the health needs of local people. In 2004–05, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley PCT and Preston PCT received allocations of £114.1 million and £155 million respectively.
	By 2007–08, these allocations will increase to £166.4 million and £207 million.

Mental Health

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients in NHS hospitals in England have been under the care of (a) a mental illness consultant and (b) a learning disabilities consultant in each year since 1986.

Rosie Winterton: Information is not available in the format requested. Information on the number of admissions to national health service hospitals under mental illness and learning disability specialties in each year since 1986 is shown in the table.
	
		Admissions to NHS hospitals under mental illness and learning disability specialties, 1986–87 to 2003–04
		
			  Mental illness Learning disability 
		
		
			 1986 197,250 40,060 
			 1987–88 187,800 37,600 
			 1988–89 190,600 36,800 
			 1989–90 185,010 39,110 
			 1990–91 188,310 48,360 
			 1991–92 200,110 48,570 
			 1992–93 209,730 51,410 
			 1993–94 217,310 52,500 
			 1994–95 216,550 53,990 
			 1995–96 214,560 52,500 
			 1996–97 210,320 53,200 
			 1997–98 203,760 54,030 
			 1998–99 198,640 44,580 
			 1999–2000 195,320 37,920 
			 2000–01 186,990 35,610 
			 2001–02 182,220 38,200 
			 2002–03(20) 174,450 35,180 
			 2003–04(20) 162,250 28,820 
		
	
	(20) Figures for 2002–03 and 2003–04 have not yet been adjusted for shortfalls in data.
	Note:
	Data for 1986 is for the calendar year. From 1987 to 1988, data is for financial years.
	Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
	The columns in the table relate to patients who are admitted to hospital under mental illness and learning disability specialities.
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics.

Mental Health

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) men and (b) women have been detained under (i) section 2, (ii) section 3 and (iii) section 4 of the Mental Health Act 1983 in England in each year since 1986; and how many have been voluntarily detained as psychiatric in-patients in each year since 1986.

Rosie Winterton: Information is not available in the requested format. Information on the number of detentions under sections 2, 3 and 4 of the Mental Health Act 1983 of patients, on admission and subsequent to admission in national health service facilities, including high security psychiatric hospitals, in England in each of the last 17 and eight years for which data is available is shown in table A. Information on the number of detentions under these sections of the Act of patients on admission and subsequent to admission in independent hospitals in England in each of the last eight years for which information is available is shown in table B. Information on the gender of patients detained subsequent to admission to hospital is not collected.
	
		Table A: Number of detentions under the Mental Health Act 1983 of patients, on admission under Section 2, Section 3 and Section 4 and subsequent to admission in NHS facilities (including high security psychiatric hospitals), in England, 1987–88 to 2003–04
		
			   Detentions on admission in NHS facilities Detentions 
			  Total detentions (on admission and subsequent to admission) in NHS facilities Male Section 2Section 3Section 4 Female Section 2Section 3Section 4 subsequent to admission in NHS facilities 
		
		
			 2003–04 31,852 6,908 4,437 865 6,742 3,798 718 8,384 
			 2002–03 31,952 6,989 4,460 900 6,634 3,926 903 8,140 
			 2001–02 32,082 6,530 4,272 1,059 6,497 3,877 976 8,871 
			 2000–01 32,348 6,746 4,729 967 6,406 4,226 816 8,458 
			 1999–2000 32,214 6,502 4,733 1,010 6,438 4,297 827 8,407 
			 1998–99 32,398 6,632 4,657 937 6,568 4,434 752 8,418 
			 1997–98 30,212 6,140 4,580 857 6,085 4,274 723 7,553 
			 1996–97 28,022 5,652 4,402 788 5,432 4,077 694 6,977 
			 1995–96 29,098 6,078 4,671 733 6,214 4,244 630 6,528 
			 1994–95 28,918 6,376 4,188 726 6,472 4,143 685 6,328 
			 1993–94 26,430 5,952 3,713 640 6,209 3,719 656 5,541 
			 1992–93 24,350 5,451 3,108 633 5,963 3,243 604 5,348 
			 1991–92 23,125 5,089 2,616 800 5,980 2,858 755 5,027 
			 1990–91 20,786 4,504 1,881 687 5,639 2,168 799 5,108 
			 1989–90 18,741 4,195 1,415 822 5,286 1,578 1,047 4,398 
			 1988–89 18,910 4,010 1,312 879 5,416 1,517 1,139 4,637 
			 1987–88 17,218 3,655 1,182 940 5,060 1,313 1,240 3,828 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. A patient may be detained more than once.
	2. Data on patients detained subsequent to admission were not collected in respect of high security psychiatric hospitals prior to 1996–97.
	3. Data on patients detained subsequent to admission are not collected by gender.
	4. Data on patients detained in 1986 were collected on a calendar year basis and therefore are not included in the table.
	5. Detentions subsequent to admission include changes from Section 136 to Sections 2 and 3 and Informal to Sections 2 and 3.
	6. Section 4 are emergency admissions therefore changes from Informal to Section 4 are not collected.
	
		Table B: Number of detentions under the Mental Health Act 1983 of patients, on admission under Section 2, Section 3 and Section 4 and subsequent to admission in independent hospitals, in England, 1996–97 to 2003–04
		
			   Detentions on admission in independent facilities Detentions 
			  Total detentions (on admission and subsequent to admission) in independent facilities  Male Section 2Section 3Section 4  Female Section 2Section 3Section 4 subsequent to admission in independent facilities 
		
		
			 2003–04 1,253 262 395 1 198 257 6 134 
			 2002–03 1,286 264 370 6 159 251 6 230 
			 2001–02 1,680 329 476 11 244 370 9 241 
			 2000–01 1,367 271 406 6 220 299 6 159 
			 1999–2000 1,480 302 381 9 243 288 10 247 
			 1998–99 1,289 261 313 12 193 248 18 244 
			 1997–98 1,061 208 246 11 181 211 9 195 
			 1996–97 941 166 198 15 156 214 24 168 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. A patient may be detained more than once.
	2. Data on patients detained subsequent to admission were not collected in respect of Independent hospitals prior to 1996–97.
	3. Data on patients detained subsequent to admission are not collected by gender.
	4. Detentions subsequent to admission include changes from Section 136 to Sections 2 and 3 and Informal to Sections 2 and 3.
	5. Section 4 admissions are emergency admissions therefore changes from Informal to Section 4 are not collected.
	Information on the number of admissions to NHS hospitals under mental illness and learning disability specialties since 1986 is shown in table C. This includes both voluntary and compulsory admissions. This information is not available for the independent sector.
	
		
			  Mental illness Learning disability 
		
		
			 1986 197,250 40,060 
			 1987–88 187,800 37,600 
			 1988–89 190,600 36,800 
			 1989–90 185,010 39,110 
			 1990–91 188,310 48,360 
			 1991–92 200,110 48,570 
			 1992–93 209,730 51,410 
			 1993–94 217,310 52,500 
			 1994–95 216,550 53,990 
			 1995–96 214,560 52,500 
			 1996–97 210,320 53,200 
			 1997–98 203,760 54,030 
			 1998–99 198,640 44,580 
			 1999–2000 195,320 37,920 
			 2000–01 186,990 35,610 
			 2001–02 182,220 38,200 
			 2002–03(21) 174,450 35,180 
			 2003–04(21) 162,250 28,820 
		
	
	(21) Figures for 2002–03 and 2003–04 have not yet been adjusted for shortfalls in data.
	Notes:
	1. Data for 1986 is for the calendar year. From 1987 to 1988, data is for calendar years.
	2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
	3. The columns in the table relate to patients who are admitted to hospital under mental illness and learning disability specialities.
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics.

Mental Health

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on new money for mental health in Lancashire;
	(2)  what funding has been allocated to health services in rural areas in South Lancashire in 2004–05.

Melanie Johnson: Over 80 per cent. of national health service resources are allocated to primary care trusts (PCTs), which are responsible for commissioning health services to meet the needs of their local populations. The table shows allocations to PCTs in the Cumbria and Lancashire Strategic Health Authority (SHA) area.
	
		PCT resource revenue allocations: Cumbria and Lancashire SHA area £ million
		
			  Allocation 
			 PCT 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 
		
		
			 Blackburn with Darwen 158,299 175,336 207,706 227,152 
			 Blackpool 166,655 182,076 213,766 232,537 
			 Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale 264,963 289,574 339,612 371,238 
			 Carlisle and District 102,316 111,989 187,964 158,474 
			 Chorley and South Ribble 171,696 188,153 242,737 266,714 
			 Eden Valley 58,439 63,669 83,150 90,291 
			 Fylde 63,955 69,679 87,963 95,208 
			 Hyndburn and Ribble Valley 103,859 114,072 152,279 166,452 
			 Morecambe Bay 289,864 316,293 404,393 438,522 
			 Preston 141,957 154,662 191,684 207,042 
			 West Cumbria 122,798 133,788 171,945 188,244 
			 West Lancashire 97,085 106,387 136,355 149,392 
			 Wyre 112,822 123,458 158,954 174,770

MRSA

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the percentage of patients in hospitals in each NHS Trust in Greater London who are infected with MRSA.

Melanie Johnson: Information on the percentage of patients in hospitals who are infected with methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is not collected centrally.
	However, national and regional information on the mandatory MRSA surveillance system is published on the Health Protection Agency's website at www. hpa.org.uk/cdr/archives/2004/cdr2904.pdf.

MRSA

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the steps which are being taken to fight MRSA at (a) Chorley and (b) Preston Hospital.

Melanie Johnson: The Department takes the issue of healthcare associated infections very seriously and has told the national health service that infection control should be at the heart of good management and clinical practice.
	The Department has set a target to reduce methicillin resistant "Staphylococcus aureus" by 50 per cent., by 2008 from an April 2005 baseline. The National Patient Safety Agency launched the first national hand hygiene campaign, "cleanyourhands" in September 2004. Commitments in the Chief Medical Officer's publication, "Winning Ways" and the Department's action plan, "Towards Cleaner Hospitals and Lower Rates of Infection" and the NHS's "Matron's Charter" have focused on evidence-based actions to reduce infections.

NHS Investment (Chorley)

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what capital investment was made in NHS facilities in Chorley in each year since 1998.

Melanie Johnson: The information is not available in the format requested. The table shows capital investment in national health service organisations that provide services in Chorley.
	
		
			  Amount (£000) 
		
		
			 1998–99 3,786 
			 1999–2000 7,021 
			 2000–01 7,403 
			 2001–02 18,727 
			 2002–03 19,544 
			 2003–04 31,469 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The figures in the table do not include private finance initiative (PFI) expenditure where PFI costs are revenue expenditure in the books of NHS bodies.
	2. Capital investment will vary between years owing to the investment decisions at individual NHS bodies.
	Sources:
	1. Audited summarisation schedules of Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (2002–03 and 2003–04) and its predecessor NHS trusts (1998–99 to 2001–02).
	2. Audited summarisation schedules of Chorley and South Ribble Primary Care Trust 2001–02 to 2003–04.

Beneficial Ownership

Brian Wilson: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will make a statement on progress with the review of beneficial ownership of land.

David Lammy: The report on Land Registry's Quinquennial Review, published in June 2001, recommended that consideration be given to including details of the beneficial or true ownership of land on the land register for England and Wales. In response to a previous question from my right hon. Friend on 23 February 2004, Official Report, column 217W, I announced that the planned consultation between Land Registry, the then Lord Chancellor's Department and other Government departments would be deferred pending a review of the timing of the several consultations to be carried out by Land Registry.
	Following completion of this review in summer 2004, it was agreed that internal consultation with other interested Government departments should proceed with a view to deciding whether the recommendation warrants being taken forward to a public consultation. This internal consultation is still on-going. No time limit has been set for final decisions to be made although I can confirm that they will be announced to Parliament in due course.

European Convention on Human Rights

Adam Price: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs when the United Kingdom Government plans to ratify the Seventh Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights.

David Lammy: The Government will be in a position to ratify this Protocol when legislation revoking some obsolete family law provisions has been passed. The Government is awaiting a suitable legislative vehicle to achieve that.

Iraq

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether the Lord Chancellor was involved in (a) framing, (b) drafting and (c) drawing up the parliamentary answer given by the Attorney-General on 17 March 2003 on Iraq.

Christopher Leslie: The Lord Chancellor, the Lord Falconer of Thoroton had no role in framing, drafting or drawing up the answer.

Targets

George Osborne: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many targets have been set in each year since 1997 by the Department and its predecessors; and, of these, which have been (a) met, (b) nearly met, (c) not met, (d) changed and (e) dropped.

David Lammy: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury on 21 February 2005, Official Report, column 75W.

Cleaning

George Osborne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the costs of cleaning the Department and its predecessors were in each year since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was established in May 2002, since when the following has been spent on office cleaning in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (C).
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 May 2002-March 2003 765,200 
			 April 2003-March 2004 707,600 
		
	
	These figures do not include VAT or any sums recovered from other Government Departments, but do include consumable items such as toilet paper, soap, etc. The figures include all internal cleaning and cleaning of some external windows where it has not been possible to identify this as a separate cost.
	The cost of cleaning the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's agencies in the same period was:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 May 2002-March 2003 600,000 
			 April 2003-March 2004 598,500 
		
	
	These figures include the Rent Service, which was an agency of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister during the period covered. It transferred to the Department of Work and Pensions on 1 April 2004. The figures do not include the Fire Service College, where the internal cleaning costs cannot be separated from the "housekeeping" costs attributed to student occupation.
	This answer does not include the buildings occupied by Government offices, who carry out functions on behalf of 10 Government Departments.
	The costs for predecessor Departments are not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Local Government Finance

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will estimate the total council tax revenue raised by local authorities from charging on empty properties in (a) 2002–03, (b) 2003–04 and (c) 2004–05.

Nick Raynsford: It is provisionally estimated that just over £200 million is being raised by local authorities from charging council tax on long-term empty homes in 2004–05. Homes that have been empty for less than six months are exempt from council tax.
	Corresponding estimates for 2002–03 and 2003–04 are not available as information on empty homes collected for those years did not include a breakdown by council tax band, and estimates for the total amount collected are dependent on this breakdown.

Local Government Finance

Michael Foster: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the annual revenue grant increase was for Worcester city council in each year from 1992–93 to 2004–05 in (a) real and (b) cash terms.

Nick Raynsford: The changes in revenue grant for Worcester city council in each year from 1993–94 to 2004–05 in (a) real and (b) cash terms are tabled as follows.
	
		Changes in revenue grant for Worcester city council
		
			  Cash £000 Real terms at 2004–05 prices Cash % change Real term % change 
		
		
			 1993–94 5,710 7,484 — — 
			 1994–95 6,285 8,120 10.1 8.5 
			 1995–96 6,271 7,873 -0.2 -3.0 
			 1996–97 6,329 7,688 0.9 -2.3 
			 1997–98 6,186 7,327 -2.3 -4.7 
			 1998–99 6,595 7,592 6.6 3.6 
			 1999–2000 6,686 7,533 1.4 -0.8 
			 2000–01 6,920 7,707 3.5 2.3 
			 2001–02 7,130 7,744 3.0 0.5 
			 2002–03 7,281 7,646 2.1 -1.3 
			 2003–04 7,387 7,545 1.5 -1.3 
			 2004–05 8,222 8,222 11.3 9.0 
		
	
	The cash figures have been deflated using the GDP deflator. Changes between years are not directly comparable because they do not take account of changes in function or funding.
	The data are as supplied by the local authority and for 2003–04 and 2004–05 are budget data what the authority anticipate they will be receiving. Data for 1992–93 are not available. The budget data for 2004–05 includes a large amount for "Planning developments", which will be funded by "special and specific grants inside Aggregate External Finance".
	Revenue grants include special and specific grants inside Aggregate External Finance, SSA reduction grant, Revenue Support grant, Central Support Protection grant and Redistributed Non-domestic rates.

Departmental Expenditure

George Osborne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many departmental (a) canteens and (b) bars there are; and how much has been spent on the (i) running, (ii) staffing and (iii) supply costs of each in each year since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was established in May 2002. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (C) has two staff canteens and one bar, with the latter run by the sports and social club (SPARTA). None of these receive any sponsorship and they are provided at no cost to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Agencies provide two staff canteens, of which only the facility at the Planning Inspectorate in Bristol receives any sponsorship. The costs for the Planning Inspectorate facility are:
	
		
			 £ 
			  Running cost Staffing cost Supply cost Total cost 
		
		
			 May 2002-March 2003 55,520 0 0 55,520 
			 April 2003-March 2004 48,174 0 0 48,174 
		
	
	These figures are exclusive of VAT, and include subsidies paid to contractors. The figures do not include sums recovered from other Government Departments.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Agencies provide three bars which are at the Fire Service College and are for the use of those attending residential courses. None of these receives any sponsorship and they are provided at no cost to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
	This answer does not include the buildings occupied by Government Offices, who carry out functions on behalf of 10 Government Departments.

Fire Services

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what consultation his Department has had with the West Midlands Fire Authority on proposed changes to night-time cover in the West Midlands region.

Nick Raynsford: As was made clear in the debate on 22 February 2005, Official Report, column 55WH, the introduction of Integrated Risk Management Plans (IRMPs) in April 2003 allows fire and rescue authorities to target resources to address local risk, as well as to make the most effective use of their resources in preventing fires. Responsibility for the preparation of IRMPs lies with each individual Fire and Rescue Authority, having regard to my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister.
	As well as setting out general principles and guidance, the National Framework makes it clear that each Fire and Rescue Authority should consult with interested parties in its area when preparing its IRMPs. The West Midlands Fire and Rescue Service has issued its proposal for the period April 2005 to March 2006, "Your Safety our Priority" for consultation. There is no requirement or expectation for consultation with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in respect of IRMPs.

Biometric Data

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Government's plans for the storage of biometric data on (a) passports and (b) associated databases exceed the requirements of (i) plans for the harmonisation of biometric storage on European passports recently agreed by the General Affairs Council of the European Union and (ii) plans agreed through the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

Des Browne: The current plan in respect of passports is that the new ePassport will store a facial image biometric contained in a chip. This will not exceed the requirements of the EU standards set out in the recently adopted Regulation on security features and biometrics in passports and travel documents (15152/04). The inclusion of a facial biometric is also in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organisation standard.
	The biometric data will be held in a database used by current UKPS business processes and will be consistent with the data to be held in the new ePassport.

Community Support Officers (Huddersfield)

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to Huddersfield constituency, on the effects on Huddersfield of the Community Support Officer Scheme, with particular reference to (a) the number of officers and (b) their impact.

Hazel Blears: I am informed by the Chief Constable, Mr. Colin Cramphorn, that on 1 February the Kirklees Area had 39 Community Support Officers. Of that number 26 are deployed to Huddersfield Division, which includes four Community Support Officers allocated to the District Antisocial Behaviour Unit that works across the Huddersfield and Dewsbury Divisions.
	The West Yorkshire Police has not carried out any analysis of the impact of the introduction of Community Support Officers in Huddersfield. However, I am informed that across Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Community Support Officers are achieving 79 per cent. of their duty time on visible patrol duties. An independent analysis has been undertaken by the Centre for Criminal Justice Studies at the University of Leeds, "Patrolling with a Purpose" in relation to the impact of the introduction of Community Support Officers in Leeds and Bradford and was published in July 2004.

Departmental Policies

Brian Sedgemore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to Havant constituency, the effects on Havant of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Government have put in place policies in the areas of crime reduction, antisocial behaviour, policing and active communities that are yielding considerable benefits for the Havant constituency, as well as for all parts of the UK.
	For example, between March 1997 and March 2004, the number of police officers in the Hampshire police force increased by 328 from 3,452 to 3,780. Following the Government's introduction of Community Support Officers (CSOs) in 2002, Hampshire has been allocated funds to recruit 25 CSOs in the first quarter of 2005 to tackle crime and antisocial behaviour on Hampshire streets. Between 1997 and 2003–04, Hampshire police force has seen a reduction in recorded domestic burglary crimes of 19 per cent. and in recorded vehicle crimes of 25 per cent.
	Hampshire Police will receive £197.7 million in general grants for 2005–06, an increase of 3.75 per cent. (£7.2 million) over 2004–05. Hampshire benefits from the decision to provide a funding floor of 3.75 per cent. If the funding formula had been strictly applied, the force would have received £4.9 million less. General grants funding to Hampshire has increased by 31.5 per cent. between 1997–98 and 2005–06. In addition to general grants, Hampshire will also receive around £16 million in specific grants funding for targeted initiatives and capital provision in 2005–06. The distribution of resources locally is a matter for the police authority and the chief constable.
	As crime prevention requires action across communities, every area has had a local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) since 1998 which brings together the police, health services, drugs agencies and council and community representatives to decide how to prevent and deter crime and antisocial behaviour.
	The Crime Reduction Programme (CRP) was a pioneering Government intervention programme which ran for three years from April 1999 in England and Wales and took an evidence-based approach to crime reduction. Grants of over £340 million were allocated to over 1,470 projects, including CCTV, under 20 initiatives that formed part of the programme. Four CCTV projects in the Havant CDRP area received a total of £235,000 from the CRP.
	Since 2001, successive initiatives have provided direct funding to each of the 376 Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships in England and Wales. These initiatives include Communities Against Drugs, the Safer Communities Initiative, the Small Retailers in Deprived Areas scheme and the Building Safer Communities Fund. Since 2001, a total of £569,288 has been allocated to Havant CDRP under these initiatives. A further £2.57 million has been provided over the two years 2003–04 and 2004–05 to the Home Office Regional Director in the South East for CDRP capacity building across the region.
	It is estimated that out of a million active offenders, 100,000 have three or more convictions and are responsible for half of all crime. There is a Prolific and other Priority Offenders (PPO) scheme in Havant set up to target those offenders who cause a disproportionate amount of crime, disorder and antisocial behaviour in the community.
	The Government's Crime Reduction Website provides further information on the work being done to reduce crime across the country, including information about action and results in local areas. It is available at http://www.crimereduction.gov.uk.
	New legislation has given local agencies a raft of powers, from antisocial behaviour orders to local dispersal orders and crack house closure powers, to work with local people to tackle antisocial behaviour and nuisance. In Havant a total of 26 antisocial behaviour orders have been issued as of 22 February 2005. Local contacts for tackling antisocial behaviour can be found on http://www.together.gov.uk/authority.asp.
	Tackling Drug Misuse is a priority of this Government and its policy is set out in the 10-year National Drug Strategy launched in 1998 and updated in December 2002. (A copy of the Updated Drug Strategy 2002 is held in the Library.) Under this, the Government have invested substantially in measures to reduce the harms caused by illegal drugs, focusing on the four strands of:
	reducing the supply of illegal drugs;
	preventing young people from becoming problematic drug users;
	providing effective treatment to all who need it; and
	reducing drug-related crime.
	Direct annual funding nationally to tackle drug misuse amounted to £1,244 million in 2003–04, rising to £1,344 million in 2004–05. Havant has seen a significant increase in direct funding for tackling drugs, in particular for drug treatment services and the throughcare and aftercare elements of the Drugs Intervention Programme. In 2003–04 the allocation for Hampshire Drug Action Team amounted to £5.48 million, rising to £6.47 million in 2004–05. Details of action taken to tackle drugs in the Havant constituency can be obtained from the Hampshire Drugs Action Team, for contact details see http://www.drugs.gov.uk/Links/DrugActionTeams.
	The Government are working to ensure that citizens, communities and the voluntary sector are more fully engaged in tackling social problems, and there is more equality of opportunity and respect for people of all races and religions. Active community participation in England has increased by 1.5 million people between 2001 and 2003. Charities have been supported more effectively, and £125 million is being invested across the country through the futurebuilders fund in voluntary and community organisations that help provide valuable public services. Advice on ways to engage local people in helping their communities is available on the Active Citizenship Centre website http://www.active-citizen.org.uk.
	This year, 2005, is the year of the Volunteer which is being delivered by the Home Office in partnership with Community Service Volunteers and Volunteering England. This will include a whole range of events in local communities across the country that aim to celebrate the contribution which volunteers make to the quality of people's lives, and encourage more people to volunteer. We are particularly keen to encourage young people, black and minority ethnic groups, those with no qualifications and disabled people to get involved. More details can be found at www.yearofthevolunteer.org.
	Detailed information on the impact of Home Office policies across the full range of responsibilities is set out in the Home Office Annual Report and in the Strategic Plan for 2004–08, available on the Home Office website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk.

Departmental Policies

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Hull, North constituency, the effects on Hull, North of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Government have put in place policies in the areas of crime reduction, antisocial behaviour, policing and active communities that are yielding considerable benefits for the Hull, North constituency, as well as for all parts of the UK.
	For example, between March 1997 and March 2004, the number of police officers in the Humberside police force increased by 186 from 2,045 to 2,231. Following the Government's introduction of community support officers (CSOs) in 2002, Humberside is in the process of recruiting 22 CSOs to tackle crime and antisocial behaviour on Humberside streets. Between 1997 and 2003–04, Humberside has seen a reduction in recorded domestic burglary crimes of 27 per cent. and in recorded vehicle crimes of 18 per cent.
	Humberside police force will receive £118.9 million in general grants for 2005–06, an increase of 3.75 per cent. (£4.3 million) on 2004–05. Humberside benefits from the decision to provide a funding floor of 3.75 per cent. If the funding formula had been strictly applied, the force would have received £0.7 million less. Humberside also gains around £0.2 million from the amending report for 2003–04, bringing the overall increase to 3.95 per cent. General grants funding to Humberside has increased by 27 per cent. between 1997–98 and 2005–06. In addition to general grants, Humberside will also receive around £8 million in specific grants funding for targeted initiatives in 2005–06. The distribution of resources locally is a matter for the Police Authority and the Chief Constable.
	As crime prevention requires action across communities, every area has had a local crime and disorder reduction partnership (CDRP) since 1998 which brings together the police, health services, drugs agencies and council and community representatives to decide how to prevent and deter crime and antisocial behaviour.
	The Crime Reduction Programme (CRP) was a pioneering government intervention programme which ran for three years from April 1999 in England and Wales and took an evidence-based approach to crime reduction. Grants of over £340 million were allocated to over 1,470 projects, including CCTV, under 20 initiatives that formed part of the programme. Three CCTV projects in the City of Kingston-upon-Hull CDRP area received a total of £5.75 million from the CRP.
	Since 2001, successive initiatives have provided direct funding to each of the 376 crime and disorder reduction partnerships in England and Wales. These initiatives include Communities Against Drugs, the Safer Communities Initiative, the Small Retailers in Deprived Areas scheme and the Building Safer Communities Fund. Since 2001, a total of £2.2 million has been allocated to City of Kingston upon Hull CDRP under these initiatives. A further £1.8 million has been provided over the two years 2003–04 and 2004–05 to the Home Office regional director in Yorkshire and Humber for CDRP capacity building across the region.
	The Government recognise the important part played by communities in addressing the wider issue of the underlying gun culture. The Government's Connected Fund, launched in May 2004, is a non-bureaucratic funding stream designed to assist small local community projects across England, working to tackle gun crime and related issues, £515,000 has been given nationally so far. In Hull, the fund has paid for a series of workshops for 8 to 13-year-olds, including talks from police about the negative impact of guns.
	The Government's Crime Reduction Website provides further information on the work being done to reduce crime across the country, including information about action and results in local areas. It is available at http://www.crimereduction.gov.uk.
	New legislation has given local agencies a raft of powers, from antisocial behaviour orders to local dispersal orders and crack house closure powers, to work with local people to tackle antisocial behaviour and nuisance. In Kingston upon Hull a total of 61 antisocial behaviour orders have been issued as of February 2005. Hull is also one of 50 communities across the country that have been designated as 'Together Action Areas' and are set to get extra help to tackle antisocial behaviour. Local contacts for tackling antisocial behaviour can be found on http://www.together.gov.uk/authority.asp.
	Tackling Drug Misuse is a priority of this Government and their policy is set out in the 10 year National Drug Strategy launched in 1998 and updated in December 2002. (A copy of the Updated Drug Strategy 2002 is held in the Library.) Under this, the Government have invested substantially in measures to reduce the harms caused by illegal drugs, focusing on the four strands of:
	reducing the supply of illegal drugs;
	preventing young people from becoming problematic drug users;
	providing effective treatment to all who need it; and
	reducing drug-related crime.
	Direct annual funding nationally to tackle drug misuse amounted to £1,244 million in 2003–04, rising to £1,344 million in 2004–05. Kingston upon Hull has seen a significant increase in direct funding for tackling drugs, in particular for drug treatment services and the throughcare and aftercare elements of the Drugs Intervention Programme. In 2003–04 the allocation for Kingston upon Hull Drug Action Team amounted to £3.5 million, rising to £4.5 million in 2004–05. Details of action taken to tackle drugs in the Kingston upon Hull constituency can be obtained from the Kingston upon Hull Drugs Action Team, for contact details see http://www.drugs.gov.uk/Links/DrugActionTeams.
	The Government are working to ensure that citizens, communities and the voluntary sector are more fully engaged in tackling social problems, and there is more equality of opportunity and respect for people of all races and religions. Active community participation in England has increased by 1.5 million people between 2001 and 2003. Charities have been supported more effectively, and £125 million is being invested across the country through the 'futurebuilders' fund in voluntary and community organisations that help provide valuable public services. Advice on ways to engage local people in helping their communities is available on the Active Citizenship Centre website http://www.active-citizen.org.uk.
	Through the Government's Time Limited Development Fund (TLDF), Willow—The North Hull Women's Centre, which covers one of the most deprived areas in Hull, has received £93,248. The Willow Centre works to increase women's self esteem, improve skills and employment prospects. The TLDF has helped to increase the numbers of volunteers recruited and improve the training and support given (both within Willow and for outside organisations). For the first two years of the grant, volunteers have numbered 110.
	This year, 2005, is the year of the volunteer which is being delivered by the Home Office in partnership with Community Service Volunteers and Volunteering England. This will include a whole range of events in local communities across the country that aim to celebrate the contribution which volunteers make to the quality of people's lives, and encourage more people to volunteer. We are particularly keen to encourage young people, black and minority ethnic groups, those with no qualifications and disabled people to get involved. More details can be found at www.yearofthevolunteer.org.
	Detailed information on the impact of Home Office policies across the full range of responsibilities is set out in the Home Office Annual Report and in the Strategic Plan for 2004–08, available on the Home Office website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk.

Departmental Policies

Debra Shipley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to Stourbridge constituency, the effects of changes to departmental policy since 1997 on Stourbridge constituency.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Government has put in place policies in the areas of crime reduction, antisocial behaviour, policing and active communities that are yielding considerable benefits for the Stourbridge constituency, as well as for all parts of the UK.
	For example, between March 1997 and March 2004, the number of police officers in the West Midlands Police Force increased by 895 from 7,113 to 8,008. The Government's introduction of Community Support Officers (CSOs) in 2002 has put 134 CSOs on West Midlands streets to tackle crime and antisocial behaviour. Between 1997 and 2003–04, West Midlands has seen a reduction in recorded domestic burglary crimes of 35 per cent. and in recorded vehicle crimes of 28 per cent.
	West Midlands Police Force is receiving £426.5 million in general grants for 2005–06, an increase of 6.81 per cent. (£27.2 million) over this year. West Midlands also gains around £0.8 million from the Amending Report for 2003–04, bringing the overall increase to 7.0 per cent. General grants funding to West Midlands has increased by 34 per cent. between 1997–98 and 2005–06. In addition to general grants, West Midlands will also receive around £29 million in specific grants funding for targeted initiatives in 2005–06. The distribution of resources locally is a matter for the police authority and the chief constable.
	As crime prevention requires action across communities, every area has had a local Crime and Disorder reduction Partnership (CDRP) since 1998 which brings together the police, health services, drugs agencies and council and community representatives to decide how to prevent and deter crime and antisocial behaviour.
	The Crime Reduction Programme (CRP) was a pioneering Government intervention programme which ran for three years from April 1999 in England and Wales and took an evidence-based approach to crime reduction. Grants of over £340 million were allocated to over 1,470 projects, including CCTV, under 20 initiatives that formed part of the programme. Four CCTV projects in the Dudley CDRP area (which includes Stourbridge) received a total of £286,459 from the CRP.
	Since 2001, successive initiatives have provided direct funding to each of the 376 Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships in England and Wales. These initiatives include Communities Against Drugs, the Safer Communities Initiative, the Small Retailers in Deprived Areas scheme and the Building Safer Communities Fund. Since 2001, a total of £1.6 million has been allocated to the Dudley CDRP under these initiatives. A further £2.03 million has been provided over the two years 2003–04 and 2004–05 to the Home Office Regional Director in the West Midlands for CDRP capacity building across the region.
	It is estimated that out of a million active offenders, 100,000 have three or more convictions and are responsible for half of all crime. There is a Prolific and other Priority Offenders (PPO) scheme in Dudley set up to target those offenders who cause a disproportionate amount of crime, disorder and antisocial behaviour in the community.
	The Government's Crime Reduction Website provides further information on the work being done to reduce crime across the country, including information about action and results in local areas. It is available at http://www.crimereduction.gov.uk.
	New legislation has given local agencies a raft of powers, from antisocial behaviour orders to local dispersal orders and crack house closure powers, to work with local people to tackle antisocial behaviour and nuisance. In Dudley CDRP a total of 29 antisocial behaviour orders are currently in force as of 9 February 2005. Local contacts for tackling antisocial behaviour can be found on http://www.together.gov.uk/authority.asp
	Tackling Drug Misuse is a priority of this Government and its policy is set out in the 10 year National Drug Strategy launched in 1998 and updated in December 2002. (A copy of the Updated Drug Strategy 2002 is held in the Library.) Under this, the Government has invested substantially in measures to reduce the harms caused by illegal drugs, focussing on the four strands of:
	reducing the supply of illegal drugs;
	preventing young people from becoming problematic drug users;
	providing effective treatment to all who need it; and
	reducing drug-related crime.
	Direct annual funding nationally to tackle drug misuse amounted to £1,244 million in 2003–04, rising to £1,344 million in 2004–05. Dudley has seen a significant increase in direct funding for tackling drugs, in particular for drug treatment services and the throughcare and aftercare elements of the Drugs Intervention Programme. In 2003–04 the allocation for Dudley Drug Action Team amounted to £1.9 million, rising to £2.4 million in 2004–05. Details of action taken to tackle drugs in the Stourbridge constituency can be obtained from the Dudley Drugs Action Team, for contact details see http://www.drugs.gov.uk/Links/DrugActionTeams
	The Government is working to ensure that citizens, communities and the voluntary sector are more fully engaged in tackling social problems, and there is more equality of opportunity and respect for people of all races and religions. For 2003–04 to 2005–06 Dudley Race Equality council is receiving a £291,431 Connecting Communities Grant from the Home Office to improve the access of black and ethnic minority people to jobs and services.
	Active community participation in England has increased by 1.5 million people between 2001 and 2003. Charities have been supported more effectively, and £125 million is being invested across the country through the 'futurebuilders' fund in voluntary and community organisations that help provide valuable public services. Advice on ways to engage local people in helping their communities is available on the Active Citizenship Centre website http://www.active-citizen. org.uk
	This year, 2005, is the year of the volunteer which is being delivered by the Home Office in partnership with Community Service Volunteers and Volunteering England. This will include a whole range of events in local communities across the country that aim to celebrate the contribution which volunteers make to the quality of people's lives, and encourage more people to volunteer. We are particularly keen to encourage young people, black and minority ethnic groups, those with no qualifications and disabled people to get involved. More details can be found at www.yearofthevolunteer.org
	Detailed information on the impact of Home Office policies across the full range of responsibilities is set out in the Home Office Annual Report and in the Strategic Plan for 2004–08, available on the Home Office website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk

Departmental Policies

Chris Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to Woodspring constituency, the effects on Woodspring of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Government have put in place policies in the areas of crime reduction, antisocial behaviour, policing and active communities that are yielding considerable benefits for the Woodspring constituency, as well as for all parts of the UK.
	For example, between March 1997 and March 2004, the number of police officers in the Avon and Somerset police force increased by 428 from 2,989 to 3,417. The Government's introduction of Community Support Officers (CSOs) in 2002 has put 99 CSOs on Avon and Somerset streets to tackle crime and antisocial behaviour. Between 1997 and 2003–04, Avon and Somerset has seen a reduction in recorded domestic burglary crimes of 33 per cent. and in recorded vehicle crimes of 30 per cent.
	Avon and Somerset police force will receive £170 million in general grants for 2005–06, an increase of 4.8 per cent. (£7.8 million) over 2004–05. General grants funding to Avon and Somerset has increased by 26.1 per cent. between 1997–98 and 2005–06. In addition to general grants, Avon and Somerset will also receive around £17.7 million in specific grants funding for targeted initiatives and capital provision in 2005–06. The distribution of resources locally is a matter for the police authority and the chief constable.
	As crime prevention requires action across communities, every area has had a local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) since 1998 which brings together the police, health services, drugs agencies and council and community representatives to decide how to prevent and deter crime and antisocial behaviour.
	The Crime Reduction Programme (CRP) was a pioneering Government intervention programme which ran for three years from April 1999 in England and Wales and took an evidence-based approach to crime reduction. Grants of over £340 million were allocated to over 1,470 projects, including CCTV, under 20 initiatives that formed part of the programme. One CCTV project in the North Somerset CDRP area (which includes Woodspring constituency) received a total of £64,000 from the CRP.
	Since 2001, successive initiatives have provided direct funding to each of the 376 Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships in England and Wales. These initiatives include Communities Against Drugs, the Safer Communities Initiative, the Small Retailers in Deprived Areas scheme and the Building Safer Communities Fund. Since 2001, a total of £890,000 has been allocated to North Somerset CDRP under these initiatives. A further £1.98 million has been provided over the two years 2003–04 and 2004–05 to the Home Office Regional Director in the South West for CDRP capacity building across the region.
	It is estimated that out of a million active offenders, 100,000 have three or more convictions and are responsible for half of all crime. There is a Prolific and other Priority Offenders (PPO) scheme in North Somerset set up to target those offenders who cause a disproportionate amount of crime, disorder and antisocial behaviour in the community.
	The Government's Crime Reduction Website provides further information on the work being done to reduce crime across the country, including information about action and results in local areas. It is available at http://www.crimereduction.gov.uk.
	New legislation has given local agencies a raft of powers, from antisocial behaviour orders to local dispersal orders and crack house closure powers, to work with local people to tackle antisocial behaviour and nuisance. In North Somerset a total of 20 antisocial behaviour orders have been issued as of February 2005. Local contacts for tackling antisocial behaviour can be found on http://www.together.gov.uk/authority.asp.
	Tackling Drug Misuse is a priority of this Government and their policy is set out in the 10-year National Drug Strategy launched in 1998 and updated in December 2002. (A copy of the Updated Drug Strategy 2002 is held in the Library.) Under this, the Government have invested substantially in measures to reduce the harms caused by illegal drugs, focusing on the four strands of:
	reducing the supply of illegal drugs;
	preventing young people from becoming problematic drug users;
	providing effective treatment to all who need it; and
	reducing drug-related crime.
	Direct annual funding nationally to tackle drug misuse amounted to £1,244 million in 2003–04, rising to £1,344 million in 2004–05. North Somerset has seen a significant increase in direct funding for tackling drugs, in particular for drug treatment services and the throughcare and aftercare elements of the Drugs Intervention Programme. In 2003–04 the allocation for North Somerset Drug Action Team amounted to £793,149 rising to £976,550 in 2004–05. Details of action taken to tackle drugs in the Woodspring constituency can be obtained from the North Somerset Drugs Action Team, for contact details see http://www.drugs.gov.uk/Links/DrugActionTeams.
	The Government are working to ensure that citizens, communities and the voluntary sector are more fully engaged in tackling social problems, and there is more equality of opportunity and respect for people of all races and religions. Active community participation in England has increased by 1.5 million people between 2001 and 2003. Charities have been supported more effectively, and £125 million is being invested across the country through the futurebuilders fund in voluntary and community organisations that help provide valuable public services. Advice on ways to engage local people in helping their communities is available on the Active Citizenship Centre website http://www.active-citizen.org.uk.
	This year, 2005, is the year of the Volunteer which is being delivered by the Home Office in partnership with Community Service Volunteers and Volunteering England. This will include a whole range of events in local communities across the country that aim to celebrate the contribution which volunteers make to the quality of people's lives, and encourage more people to volunteer. We are particularly keen to encourage young people, black and minority ethnic groups, those with no qualifications and disabled people to get involved. More details can be found at www.yearofthevolunteer.org.
	Detailed information on the impact of Home Office policies across the full range of responsibilities is set out in the Home Office Annual Report and in the Strategic Plan for 2004–08, available on the Home Office website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk.

Police

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much total Government grant per capita was given to each police force in England in each year since 1997.

Hazel Blears: The information is set out in the table.
	Government funding for police authorities is chiefly allocated using a funding formula that distribute resources on the basis of relative policing need. The formula is currently being reviewed to ensure it reflects modern policing needs. Funding is not, and never has been, distributed on a per capita basis.
	
		Government grant funding(23) per head of population(24) £
		
			 Force 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset 94.52 96.85 97.60 101.29 112.31 110.22 117.39 120.77 
			 Bedfordshire(25) 95.82 96.93 95.42 99.91 107.94 115.13 117.69 120.44 
			 Cambridgeshire 84.24 87.30 89.35 92.80 103.72 100.60 111.81 116.00 
			 Cheshire 88.91 91.34 95.57 100.23 106.51 108.87 120.31 120.39 
			 Cleveland 122.58 132.06 134.19 140.03 149.03 158.15 168.44 175.11 
			 Cumbria 105.43 106.94 108.60 113.77 123.88 125.25 130.76 135.46 
			 Derbyshire 88.59 91.52 94.26 95.21 106.24 105.08 112.59 116.26 
			 Devon and Cornwall 88.03 94.04 96.17 100.10 109.74 109.40 113.28 116.67 
			 Dorset 81.70 85.94 88.70 87.33 94.50 93.65 98.53 100.74 
			 Durham 108.52 117.57 123.08 129.27 137.27 138.87 149.86 154.87 
			 Dyfed-Powys 89.53 91.34 91.32 96.95 110.74 111.64 114.57 118.27 
			 Essex(25) 90.59 88.26 90.52 92.21 98.03 101.92 106.25 108.17 
			 Gloucestershire 93.57 94.74 94.35 97.93 107.57 107.25 112.38 115.68 
			 Greater Manchester 125.21 129.03 132.87 137.74 153.33 152.00 170.22 173.81 
			 Gwent 102.95 106.10 111.61 115.73 126.18 129.56 138.57 142.41 
			 Hampshire(25) 87.91 92.20 94.15 97.52 104.24 107.44 117.24 116.75 
			 Hertfordshire3 90.49 91.73 97.52 94.07 101.20 101.12 106.09 109.56 
			 Humberside 108.87 114.29 114.32 120.40 129.41 128.70 139.33 143.30 
			 Kent(25) 96.07 99.44 100.23 105.36 114.39 115.83 127.30 126.86 
			 Lancashire 104.63 109.53 110.95 118.32 130.73 127.88 137.07 141.25 
			 Leicestershire 92.34 93.20 97.15 100.26 110.95 109.14 117.60 120.66 
			 Lincolnshire 88.35 84.49 88.14 94.19 97.01 103.85 103.26 105.18 
			 Merseyside 150.14 152.59 154.54 160.78 170.52 180.66 195.25 201.12 
			 Metropolitan(25) 211.79 212.42 213.96 227.70 243.70 261.46 282.32 286.29 
			 Norfolk 91.37 91.84 90.65 95.41 103.19 106.33 115.66 115.34 
			 Northamptonshire 87.97 90.37 91.62 96.41 102.33 102.91 113.48 112.38 
			 Northumbria 126.11 134.98 138.05 140.95 155.45 153.22 166.88 174.22 
			 North Wales 95.01 96.33 98.35 102.77 112.54 119.44 123.90 126.40 
			 North Yorkshire 85.44 90.25 89.77 90.97 101.44 98.66 103.85 106.81 
			 Nottinghamshire 106.07 108.74 114.03 116.53 120.55 127.38 133.93 138.00 
			 South Wales 115.87 117.36 119.86 123.00 132.89 135.82 141.69 151.08 
			 South Yorkshire 111.96 115.56 120.09 124.84 131.32 136.97 151.74 153.79 
			 Staffordshire 95.05 94.50 94.51 96.45 102.10 104.48 114.46 115.22 
			 Suffolk 81.66 84.42 89.14 91.93 102.94 100.07 107.25 109.52 
			 Surrey(25) 101.66 89.09 98.45 89.29 86.54 85.61 93.18 94.02 
			 Sussex(25) 90.44 93.48 95.87 96.93 102.97 107.57 113.67 116.26 
			 Thames Valley(25) 85.97 89.94 90.48 93.06 103.42 104.22 109.72 113.04 
			 Warwickshire 86.87 86.31 87.33 96.42 115.96 101.02 110.78 108.99 
			 West Mercia 82.23 82.82 86.62 91.42 108.57 97.88 101.72 103.67 
			 West Midlands 122.96 129.04 132.80 138.23 146.43 151.75 171.37 171.89 
			 West Yorkshire 115.77 119.90 122.66 129.50 136.76 142.78 152.91 157.36 
			 Wiltshire 90.79 91.08 91.08 95.26 103.05 102.92 106.93 109.35 
		
	
	(23) Government funding includes general grant (Home Office police grant, ODPM/Welsh Assembly Government Revenue Support Grant and National Non-Domestic Rates). It also includes specific grants: Crime Fighting Fund, Rural Policing Fund, Basic Command Unit funding, Community Support Officer funding (including, for 2004–05, funding from Round 1 of the Neighbourhood Policing Fund), Airwave, DNA Expansion Programme, Counter Terrorism funding (MPS only), Street Crime Initiative, Special Priority Payments and capital grants.
	(24) Source for resident population figures: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Welsh Assembly Government as used in the calculation of the police funding settlements.
	(25) The Home Office also funds 75 per cent. of the cost of the London and south-east allowances for all qualifying officers. These figures are not included within the totals.

Prisons

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women gave birth in prison in each year since 1997.

Paul Goggins: Full information is not available for the whole period, but the available data shows that in 2004,114 women gave birth while serving a prison sentence. Further information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Prisons

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of prisoners who declared themselves as Muslims in each of the last five years were (a) British nationals and (b) foreign nationals.

Paul Goggins: The nationality of Muslim prisoners received into prison establishments in each of the last five years, as recorded on the Prison Service central IT system, is provided in the table.
	
		First receptions of Muslims to prison establishments, by nationality—England and Wales 2000–04
		
			  2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 1 
		
		
			 All 7,775 9,137 9,258 9,633 9,603 
			 British nationals 4,617 5,038 5,549 5,411 5,269 
			 Foreign nationals 2,992 3,866 3,481 3,954 4,155 
			 Not recorded 166 233 228 268 179 
		
	
	(26) Information for 2004 is to 30 November only
	Towards the end of 2004 the information on the religious affiliation of prisoners held on the central Prison Service IT system was comprehensively refreshed with updated information contained within the local IT systems in each prison establishment. This update had little impact on the overall population figures by religious group for most groups. However, it is estimated that the population of prisoners whose recorded religion was Buddhism or Muslim increased by around 1 per cent. each because of this data cleansing exercise.

Sex Abuse (Interview Equipment)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the merits of using the video-link equipment available in prisons to record interviews between police and imprisoned witnesses in historical sex abuse cases.

Hazel Blears: No assessment has been made of video-link equipment available in prisons for recording interviews between police and imprisoned witnesses in historical sex abuse cases. The Association of Chief Police Officers working group currently reviewing guidance to police officers conducting such investigations advise that any equipment meeting the 'Evidence Gathering By Camera Standards' set out in Home Office 'Achieving Best Evidence' can be used for interviews. In practice, where it is decided that an interview will be recorded, the police are likely to use accredited portable equipment or to take the prisoner to a dedicated site.

Paramilitary Organisations

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he has taken to tackle criminal activities by paramilitary organisations.

Ian Pearson: In respect of organised criminality by paramilitary organisations, the Government's response is led through the Organised Crime Task Force (OCTF). It produces an annual Treat Assessment which informs the strategic priority setting of the Law Enforcement Agencies (LEA). Expert Groups, involving both the LEAs and the Private Sector, work to develop measures and techniques to reduce the opportunities for organised criminality.
	In 2004, the first Cross Border Organised Crime Assessment was launched by both An Garda Siochana and the Police Service of Northern Ireland. This and the level of joint operational activity are tangible evidence of the effective co-operation occurring across the border.

Vehicle Recovery Scheme

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many vehicles have been recovered in each police district command unit as part of the Managed Vehicle Recovery and Storage Scheme in each year since its introduction.

Ian Pearson: The Managed Vehicle Recovery and Storage Scheme was launched on 1 October 2004.
	The scheme uses a mapping system which is based upon deploying the nearest available recovery contractor to any given location and does not take account of District Command Unit boundaries therefore the figures are not available in the format requested.
	Between 1 October 2004 and 22 February 2005, 2,670 vehicles were recovered under this scheme across Northern Ireland.